Mermaids Needed!
by shadeslayerprincess111
Summary: Four girls, a little magic, and being at the right place at the right time? Just might make some mermaids! Same concept as the show, but with different plot twists, story line and characters. (SYOC closed)
1. Prologue

**HIDE! I'm attempting another story! Wait, actually don't hide! Come back out!**

**So basically this has the same idea as H2O, but with different characters, plot twists and possibly setting. Except I thought it would be fun to challenge myself and try writing with some different characters made by you guys! So if you want to submit a character, PM me and I'll send you more info. One of the three mermaids will be of my creation though, so I can only pick two others. I don't need any other characters quite yet, but I will let you guys know when/if I do. Hope to hear from you guys soon!**

Prologue:

Who even believes in mermaids anymore? I mean, sure back in, like, the 1500's, all those sailors did. And I'm sure the Greeks did. I mean, they had a dude crossed with a horse, so why not cross a woman with a fish? And I'm sure that when you were a little girl and watched "The Little Mermaid" you thought they were real for a while. And maybe you watched the special on Animal Planet about mermaids and then freaked out because it all seemed to add up. You probably freaked out again when you found out it was fake. I, for one, never really bought into the singing, rainbow haired, supermodels in nothing but seaweed bikinis and shell bras living at the bottom of the ocean. First of all, you'd get eaten by a shark. Also, do they have gills, or are they like dolphins. And come on. Wouldn't you get all wrinkly being in the water all the time? And what happens if you fall in love with a guy? I mean, Ariel gave up her voice to become human. Sure, the Prince fell in love with her even though they never spoke, but that only makes since until you turn six. Be realistic. Mermaids don't exist. I certainty never believed in them..

Until now.

**So short, I know, but it's just the prologue. Oh, and if you're still hiding, leave a review!**


	2. Intro: Bethany (part 1)

**Hello Readers! This is just an introduction chapter to one of the mermaids, of my creation. I decided to make it four instead of three. So please, submit a character! I've only had a couple submissions from people who have accounts. To my guest reviewers, Cat, Shreya, and Alex: I wish you guys had accounts so I could ask questions about your characters. I don't have enough to go on! So please, give me a way to contact you (email?) so I can consider your characters! So to any new readers who might want to make a character, just send me a PM letting me know so I can send you a form! If you don't have an account, you should make one, or give me your email. Thanks for reading! **

Fifteen minutes ago, when I'd gotten in the shower, the house was completely silent. Now it was a three ring circus. As soon as I'd shut off the shower, I'd heard it. Rose was banging on the door to our shared bathroom, Mom was shouting at Ethan about not being up to her and Dad's standards, and Dad was yelling at Rose to stop banging and Mom to stop shouting. "Bethany! Hurry up! I've got to leave in 45 minutes!" Rose shrieked. _Plenty of time to get ready._ I thought, grabbing a towel. I heard the front door slam and Ethan's motorcycle roar down the road. "Beth-a-ny!" Rose cried through the door, kicking it.

"Hold on!" I said, slipping into the denim shorts and blue tank top I'd picked up earlier. I wrapped a towel, turban style, over my wet hair and tucked my discarded pj's under my arm before opening the door. "It's summer vacation, Rose. Where do you have to be?" I snapped at my twelve year old sister. She crossed her arms defiantly over her chest.

"Band camp,du-uh! I've been going all week! Now move." She said pushing past me and slamming the door. Fortunately, I'd been going for early morning jogs to the beach all week. Today, unfortunately, I'd slept in a bit. Why, in such a big house, was there only one bathroom upstairs? I mean, it was fancy enough that every bedroom had a half bathroom, but there was only one other shower besides the one in my parents bathroom. Thankfully, I only had to share it with Rose, because Ethan's bedroom was in the basement. I walked down the large hallway, away from the stairs and the upstairs sitting area that overlooked the front door and the entry hall. Behind me was my parent's suite, complete with a bedroom, their own sitting room and bar, a massive balcony, two giant walk in closets, and bathroom the size of a school bus. I passed Rose's rooms and headed to the end of the hall, where my rooms were. This house was so palatial, Rose and I each had a bedroom, and an extra room. I used mine as a place to do homework, and that's the only time I used it. Sure, its probably every teenage girl's dream to have two rooms, but I preferred the cozy privacy of my bedroom. Most of the time, we didn't even use half of the house. I was always outside anyway. I entered my room, only to find our dog, Tally, asleep on my window seat. The black cocker spaniel thumped her tail at my arrival, but didn't get up. She obviously preferred the calm silence of my room to all the yelling downstairs. I unwrapped the towel around my head, and went into the half bath to hang it up. The family cat, Sasha, was also a guest in my room. I found the Siamese taking a nap in her favorite spot-the sink. I smiled at her antics, and quickly decided against turning on the water. I had done that enough times to know that the only thing cats hate more than being startled awake is being startled awake with a cold shower. But I did have to dry my hair. "Sorry, Sash" I said, as I plugged in the hair dryer. "I gotta dry my hair." As the hair dryer roared to life, the disgruntled cat leaped away. After drying my hair, I began putting the mess to rights with a brush. As soon as I turned off the hair dryer, Sasha returned, and settled on her second favorite nap spot- my feet. Her quiet purring was the only sound as I ran the flat iron over my hair to get it to be smooth and more manageable. Why did I have to get stuck with the red hair? Ethan had Dad's sandy, darker blonde hair, and Rose had Mom's platinum blonde locks. I just had red. Well, it wasn't red _red_, more like a light reddish tan color. And it did have _some_blonde highlights in it, if I got enough sun, if you looked closely. After putting my hair to rights, I dug out my mascara wand. Unfortunately, I was the only kid to get Mom's light brown eyelashes and light hazel eyes. I put just enough on just to darken my eyelashes. I leaned close to the mirror, wishing I could cover up my freckle dotted nose. Not even concealer worked. Freckles were cute when you were five, but not anymore. I spun around-disturbing the cat yet again- and flicked my bangs out of my eyes. I was trying to grow them out, but, man were they annoying. Hoping the worst of the morning rush was over in the kitchen, I headed downstairs. Dad had already left, probably taking Rose with him to band camp or whatever, and Ethan hadn't come back. No doubt he would as soon as Mom left. She was chatting away, holding her cell phone with one hand and typing away on her laptop with the other. Hoping to sneak under the radar, I grabbed a yogurt out of the fridge, and a spoon and tried unsuccessfully to sneak back upstairs. Unfortunately, Mom had seen me and was getting off the phone. She was giving me _that_ look, the one that means _don't you dare eat that anywhere else but the kitchen, young lady._I poured a glass of orange juice and sat down at the island as Mom said goodbye to whoever she was talking to.

"Bethany, darling, what are your plans for the day?" she said, packing up her laptop. I shrugged.

"Nothing really" I said, stirring my yogurt to mix it with the fruit on the bottom. "Not yet, at least" Mom smoothed the skirt of her suit and walked to the coffee maker, heels clicking.

"Well, today is Rose's last day of camp and she has her concert tonight. Your father and I both have to work late tonight, so I know she'll be heart -broken" Mom glanced up at me from behind her platinum blonde hair, highlighted to cover up the ever creeping gray, of course. "But if you and your brother would go..." I sighed.  
"I ask him." I said.

"Good. It starts at seven, at the high school. Don't be late. Now I really must be going. Goodbye, Bethany." And just like that, she was gone. Somehow I knew she'd been planning to ask Ethan and me to go all along. I smiled to myself and finished my yogurt. I could always go to the beach. But on a Friday, it was sure to be crowded with locals-most of them my peers. It was bad enough I had to see them during school, but I was going too avoid meeting up with anyone I knew this summer at all costs. It wasn't like I had any friends...

I tossed the empty yogurt container in the trash and ran back upstairs to get my shoes. "But I don't need relationships, right Tally?" I said, upon entering. The dog only thumped her tail in response. "I don't need friends, and I don't need a boyfriend." I dug a pair of sneakers out of my messy closet and sat down on my unmade bed to put them on. "I mean, who does? Relationships just bog people down." Tally hoped down from the window seat and jumped up next to me. I slid the left shoe on and tied it. "They're too much drama." I put on the right shoe on. "Besides, I've got you, and Ethan." I patted Tally's head, and rubbed behind his ear. "Dogs are forever, and so are brothers. Right?" He wagged his tail expectantly. I scooped my hair into a ponytail. "I'm talking to a dog." I whispered. I fastened a hair tie around the hasty ponytail. "C'mon. I'll take you for a walk."

**Good? Bad? Leave a review! PM me with any questions **


	3. Intro:Bethany (part 2)

**Hi! Thanks to all of you awesome people who reviewed, followed, favorited, and submitted or are in the process of it! You guys are awesome! *Hugs* You're also making it really hard to choose! I already decided to make it four mermaids instead of three, but I think I already mentioned that. I already have chosen two (you know who you are!) and now I have to choose the last one. **

**As much as I love getting submissions, I have tons already and I'm waiting on most of them to be finished to pick the final character. And I feel really bad saying this, but I don't need any more submissions :( But if you would like to submit a non mermaid, I will let you know when I need some other characters! (Probably in the next chapter or two!)**

**I also decided to change the setting to America instead of Australia so I wouldn't be total copier. If you said something in the form about moving to Australia, I just substituted the made-up town where the story will be set.**

**So because I'm bored waiting for everyone to finish their submissions, this is a continuation of the first chapter. I think that's everything! (Authors note might just be longer than this chapter)**

**Oh, and I don't own H2o: Just add water. I'm just stealing the idea because it's fabulous, and that's what fan fiction is for!**

"We make quite a pair, don't we, Tally?" I said. Once again, the house was a girl and her dog. Perfect. The two of us were flopped on the couch in the family room, fresh from a walk. Tally's pink tongue lolled lazily as he panted. I sat up just enough to pull my ponytail from under my neck and toss it behind. Hair sticking to sweaty skin was the worst. Why did South Carolina have to be so hot? And humid? _Probably because it's next to Florida and Florida's hot, you idiot. _I groaned and rolled onto my stomach. "Let's go swimming" I said aloud. "I'm talking to a dog again, aren't I?" Tally only wagged her tail in response. I kicked my shoes off and tried unsuccessfully to grab the TV remote with my foot. Just then, I heard a car pull up, and one of the doors close. Keys jangling, knob turning, door closing, foot steps. Brisk, but purposeful, like they knew where they were going and never needed to turn around. "Hey Ethan!" I called, not having to look up to see who it was.

"Hey" he said, and I heard him toss his keys on the counter and open the fridge-his customary procedure upon entering the house. I sat up.

"What was all that yelling for this morning?" I watched as he dug through the freezer and pulled out a container of ice cream.

"The same thing that happens every day." He said with his usual cockiness. "Mom yelling at me for not going to Oxford or whatever she wants." He took out a bowl and began scooping massive amounts of ice cream into it. I guess boys could do that since they never get fat, no matter what they eat. "But I don't want any student loans, and I don't even know what I want to do yet, so why pay for a fancy college while I decide?" He put away whatever remained in the ice cream container away.

"Yeah" I said. I'd heard it many times before. Both my parents wanted him to become an architectural engineer, but he had no interest in that. He flopped down next to me on the couch.

"Hey, you wanna go to the beach?" he said, before taking a massive bite of ice cream.

"It's Friday. It'll be packed." He shrugged. "Oh, and Rose's camp has a concert tonight and the loving parents are too busy to make it, so they want us to go."

"I've got a class at four, but it should be over in time. You sure you don't want to go to the beach?"

"I'd love to go, but it will be really busy, and I hate it when its busy" I said despondently.

"We could go up to Swallow's Cove. It's not that far." he said nonchalantly. I laughed.

"No one goes there, Ethan."

"Well, why not? We've been living here, for what, five years? What's so bad about it?"

"I don't know! They just don't" I grumbled.

"Why not? It's not like someone was murdered there, is it? I drove past there yesterday on my way to class, and it's beautiful. The waves are perfect for body surfing." He scraped the side of his bowl or the melted ice cream. "What do you say? It won't be crowded." He said, before getting up and taking his bowl to the sink. I sighed.

"Okay, okay, I'll go." I relented. Ethan grinned. "But you're driving." I said, before dashing upstairs to change into my swimsuit.

The turquoise water swirled around me, and the wave surged below me. I gripped my boogie board tightly, and rode on the crest of the wave to the sand. Ethan rode in on the next one, his wave crashing down on me as I stood up. The retreating currant threatened to suck my board back into the ocean, but I grabbed it. "You're right! This place is fabulous!" I yelled, and we trooped back up to our towels. He smirked.

"Told ya so" he said, kicking sand on my salt water sticky legs.

"Hey!" I cried, kicking more back. He shoved me lightly, and I shoved him back. We should come here more often. Wanna go again?" I asked. Ethan glanced at as watch as he wiped his face on a towel.

"I'd better get going. You ride with me or walk. It's not that far."

"You kidding? I'm not walking back after being in the ocean for five hours!" I gathered up my stuff. "You wanna come back tomorrow?"

"Can't. I gotta work all day."

"Oh. Well I'm coming back to look around tomorrow. This place is beautiful." As we walked back to the car, I couldn't help but wish that tomorrow was already here..

**So that last little bit at the beach was very random, but yeah! What did you think? Leave a review! **


	4. Intro: Amanda

**Wow, that was really hard. There were sooo many good characters and it was super hard to choose. I'm pretty sure I let everyone know already who I chose, but just in case, here are the girls I chose. **

**RosemaryAlysse/giggles-Noelle**

**TomandJerry96-Thalia**

**ConfederatePrincess-Amanda**

**me!-Bethany**

**WaffleManiac, ****He4artBreaker101, h2omermaidforever, LilacFields, BlueAbyssofShadow, **

**elysa-lu, La xtreme, AthenaGal01, Hobgoblin73, and espessially MsValdez1129, you guys are awesome, and I'm sooo sorry I couldn't choose all of yours. Love you guys!**

**So without further ado, my next chapter! Its basically an introduction chapter for one of the characters, Amanda, made by ConfederatePrincess. Check out her Lord of the Rings fanfics! (love ya, sis!)**

_POV: Amanda_

Ahhh, finally, peace and quiet. The musty smell of books greeted me as I unlocked the door to the Oceanview Books, a tiny bookstore crammed from ceiling to floor with books, and you guessed it-no ocean view. But at least no one was hardly ever here. I brushed my light blonde hair -again- out of my eyes, and flipped the sign from "closed" to "open" before settling behind the check out counter. "Only three hours and fifty six minutes to go." I muttered to myself. Oh well. I spent most of shifts sitting here doing nothing any way. And at least I'd gotten away from the step-brats. Sure, they were Mom's kids, so technically my half siblings, but I guess they got John's traits instead of Mom's. John was the most uptight person I'd ever met, and he just so happened to also be my step father. He controlled the budget (and recently lowered my allowance-again) just like he controlled Mom. The only thing he couldn't control was his kids. Five year old Lucy was a spoiled brat and Jimmy was cute at two, but quite a handful. When he wasn't spilling things, he was breaking them. And still, Mom fawned over him. Both of them actually. Much more than I could ever remember doing for Grace and me. _Grace._The thought of her made me miss her all the more. She was my best friend, and also my sister. But she was going to college and working in Virginia and I hardly ever got to see her, except on holidays or three day weekends. After Dad left, and Mom had been a wreck, I was four and Grace was nine. She had done what she did every time we played together-she become like my surrogate mother for a few years. Now that I was sixteen and she was almost twenty two, she was still always warning me about boys and the popular girls-stuff my mother never really bothered to tell me. But now Grace was dating a really great guy and to be honest, that freaked me out. If she got married, I would lose her. But I really wanted her to be happy. My few dating experiences hadn't gone well, and I was wary of another one. I sighed. _Why can't I wear a tee shirt to work? Its not like anyone ever shops here..._ But the store's owner, a very eccentric old man, wanted his employees to look nice, so I was stuck in a horrendous green polo shirt. One gets very tired of green after a while. _At least he's not picky about pants or shoes. _I thought, slipping my feet out of my flip flops and putting them up on the table. I ran my fingers through my hair, and pulled it all to one side before digging through my bag for my sketchbook. I flipped through it searching for a blank page. I would much prefer to be drawing actually on the beach, but this was the next best thing. Once again, I'd lost my pencil. I rummaged haphazardly through my bag, making piles of all the junk in there, until I finally found it at the bottom of my bag. I tossed everything randomly back in, knowing I would regret it later. Finally situated, I poised my pencil over the white expanse, planning out what I would draw. _Waves. Waves are nice._Just as I began to sketch, the door opened and a customer walked in. I groaned inwardly, but my lament was very, very unnecessary. Tall, dark, rather shaggy hair, piercing green eyes- very menacing, but very, very attractive. He gave the room a quick survey, obviously knowing I was there, but not letting on to it. Quickly, I sat normally in my chair.

"Hi." I piped up. "Do you need help with anything?" I asked sweetly. Our eyes met for the first time, and he scowled. A chill went through me as I realized who he was. Chris Johnson. The guy who never talked to anyone. _Be afraid, Amanda, be very afraid._ I told myself. He cleared his throat, almost nervously.

"No" he said, in a quiet, deep voice. "But, uh, thanks." He dipped his head in an awkward nod, and with that disappeared into the floor to ceiling book cases. For once, I found myself wishing there was actually more customers in the place. I twisted a piece of hair around my finger, craning my neck to see out the window.

"Expecting someone?" I jumped and barely managed to stifle a shriek, before I realized it was only my scary customer. Only...

"No, not really. Why?" I said with a nervous laugh. I wanted to hit myself. Flirting was fun, especially since I wasn't too keen on a boyfriend, and I liked the attention it gave me, but not with this guy. He could be a serial killer for all I knew.

"You're peering out the window like a lovesick puppy." He said, and smiled. _He actually smiled!_Ready to end the conversation, I glanced down at his purchase.

"Twelfth Night and Much Ado About Nothing?" I asked questioningly. "Summer reading?" Inwardly, though, I winced. _Stop flirting!_Chris shrugged.

"Sort of" He said softly._He's not all that bad, just a little shy._I thought. He handed them to me and I scanned them to ring up his bill.

"So are you a fan of Shakespeare?" I asked, letting go of a little caution. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the door open and a red haired girl walk in. I vaguely recognized her from school. She glanced at me, and I saw what she was thinking. _Desperate flirt._She glanced around impatiently.

"Yeah." Said Chris, doing that awkward nodding thing again.

"I haven't read much of his work, besides for school." Awkward nod. "What's your favorite" He shrugged.

"I like it all...but this one is pretty good." He said, motioning to Twelfth Night.

"You've read it before?" Awkward nod. "For school?"

"I'd read it before it was assigned." He said, obviously embarrassed. He paid me, and I handed him his books. I received another awkward nod.

"Well, have fun reading it again!" I called after him as he left. The redhead emerged from one of the many bookshelf canyons.

"Don't you know who that was?" She demanded.

"Sure. Everyone knows." I retorted. I knew who she was. Bethany Willis, the girl who never needed anyone to do anything. Miss Independent herself. She rolled her eyes, and I could tell she was labeling me as something a lot worse than desperate flirt.

"Do you have any books or articles on Swallow's Cove? I checked the library, but they didn't have anything."

"Swallow's Cove? Why do you want to know about that place? No one goes there."

"So? I don't care. Its not like its haunted or anything." I _rolled_ my eyes.

"It might be! That's why no one goes there." She gave me a blank look.

"Well, I went there yesterday, and I'm still alive." She said sarcastically. "And I'm going back today. So do you have anything, or not?"

"If we do, its in local history, right there." I pointed to the shelves alongside my cashiers table, and she went to it. Swallow's Cove. A place just oozing adventure. Bethany sighed dramatically and approached me with a book on South Carolina's coastline. Obviously not what she wanted. I rang it up, and she paid me. "So, you're going back today?" I asked.

"Yeah, why?"

" Um, well I've never been there, but its sounds really cool, and I, um...do you think I could come with you?" I blurted out. Bethany regarded me skeptically. We'd never been friends at school, but if I knew one thing about her, it was that she didn't want to get bogged down in life by relationships. But suddenly, my relaxing summer was craving an adventure. "Please?"

"Sure, why not?" She said, relenting. "What time do you get off here?"

"Two. I'll meet you there." I said excitedly.

"Um, okay...see you then, I guess?" She said, still not looking thrilled at the idea. "Bye."

"Bye!" I called after her enthusiastically. I was positively trembling with excitement! Summer vacation was about to get a whole lot more exciting.

**So a bit longer than usual! I'm still working on how they are all going to be at Swallow's Cove (aka Mako Island) at the same time, but they will be. The mermaid business begins soon, I promise. I just have to introduce the last two characters. I also kinda want to get a quick intro for their potential love interests, so if you guys have any ideas, let me know! Oh, and leave a review please!**


	5. Intro: Noelle

******Hi readers! Sorry for the slight delay in updating, but there was this butterfly who needed rescuing from a praying mantis and then I thought its wings were hurt but it turns out its legs and possibly its tongue thing got eaten and I can't really help it and you guys probably don't care... um, yeah. Plus, I was a little at a loss of what to do for this chapter. It's introducing Noelle, the third mermaid, created by RosemaryAlysse. **

**I'm still in need of two possibly three potential love interests! So, if anyone reads this story besides the creators of the chosen characters, especially if you submitted only to be rejected by me, who still feels like a jerk, and you want to create a Lewis or Zane like person, PLEASE let me know. Bethany, Noelle, and the fourth mermaid, Thalia, needs you guys! If I am using your character and you want to create one for one of the other characters, you can too! Just not for your own, because...well, because I said so and I'm a control freak. Besides, what girl gets to create her own boyfriend? (I wish!) **

**And I'm going to the beach next week. I might bring my laptop and if I do, I might update if I have time. At the very least, I'll write some in a notebook, which will probably stay there like every other fan fiction I don't type. Don't let me quit!**

**Drum roll...chapter 5!**

_POV: Noelle_

School. Just the very thought of it sent my stomach into knots. _Don't think about it, Ella._I told myself. But I couldn't help it. At least it was summer vacation, but that didn't last forever. We'd just moved in a week ago, and I didn't know anyone. The handful of friends I had at the various places I used to live had all moved on, and rarely answered my emails anymore. But, hey, we were living next to a beach! A real beach! I'd gone with Gabriel and Marie yesterday, and my sister had immediately made friends and had spent the whole time flirting away with the all too willing boys there. Gabriel, as usual, was super-brother again, and was his usual overprotective self. Marie and Gabriel were twins, and just a year older than me. When they had started high school two years ago, and I was still in 8th grade, we had just moved. I remember Gabriel actually went in with me an hour before it started, and walked around to all my classes with me, just so I wouldn't get lost the rest of the day. _There you go again, thinking about school._ Of course, almost all teenagers hate school. But it was worse for me. You tell someone you have dyslexia, and they never treat you the same way. I want to succeed, so I strive to perfect. But then I get labeled as the teacher's pet. Besides, school always makes me feel stupid. It takes me so much longer to read assignments and do my homework, that I can't take advanced classes. I can study for hours the night before a test and still do poorly. I flunked third grade...

At least the start of school meant the start of soccer season. Hopefully, I would make the team. If I was good enough, I might even make varsity. But I was taking a break from training right now. I descended down the stairs into the basement, cluttered with unpacked boxes. I cleared a space, and slipped in my head phones, scrolling through the list until I found what I was looking for. _Act II, scene I, the Nutcracker._Last Christmas, at my old dance school, I had gotten the role of Clara in our production of the Nutcracker. The solo was a little rusty, but it only took a few measures for my body to remember. I danced, letting my worries float away. When I had first learned this solo, it had seemed incredibly difficult, and I had worried constantly over it, and even though I was normally brave, I had almost started crying right before I had to go on. But, in the end, it was all for nothing. I had danced perfectly. Now, it was one of my favorite dances to mess with in my spare time. Before I knew it, the final strains of the accompaniment music faded, and the solo was over. I had done it so many times, it was practically mindless. I sat down cross legged on the floor to stretch and cool down. I brushed my blonde hair that was escaping from its sloppy braid into a tight ponytail before unlacing my pointe shoes. Mom probably needed help with the unpacking, so it was time to go back upstairs. As I trotted up the creaky stairs, I heard a knock at the door. Marie was out, Gabriel was probably in his room unpacking, and I heard my mother in the laundry room. "I'll get it!" I sang out. I zig-zagged through the maze of packing boxes in the kitchen and dining rooms and flung the door open. "Haylee!" I shrieked, delighted. My cousin grinned, and gave me a quick hug.

"Hi, Noelle! I've come to help you guys unpack!" Haylee and I had the same birthday, but she was eighteen, two years older than me. We were very close-practically sisters.

"I can't believe we moved to the same town you live in! It's going to be so much fun having you here."

"I know! I never got to see you when you guys lived in Florida." she half-squealed. "Oh, but I have to leave before one. I have a doctor's appointment." I tried to hide my disappointment. Haylee had a heart disease. She didn't talk much about it though, just like I didn't talk much about my dyslexia.

"Ella, don't be rude!" Mom said, coming up behind me. "Let your cousin in!"

"Oh, right, sorry!" I could be such a blonde sometimes.

"Did I hear you say you were going to help us unpack?" Mom said to Haylee, blue eyes dancing. Haylee nodded.

"Anything better than sitting at home all day!" She said cheerfully.

"How about we unpack all my dishes?" Mom said "I have no idea which box they're in, though, so we'll have to go hunting." She and Haylee set to work, and I ran upstairs to change. My room, like the rest of the house, was filled with packing boxes and suitcases. I tossed my pointe shoes on my mattress, which was serving as my bed until the frame was delivered, and pulled off my magenta leotard and light colored tights. After a rummage through my stuff, I assembled an outfit-a floral asymmetrical dress with a belt. I put on my favorite brown ankle boots, and did a french braid running from the right side of my head to the the left, where I finished it in a loose side bun. Boho chic-my favorite. I headed downstairs, ready for a day of moving in.

A couple hours later, Haylee and I were sitting in my room. We were supposed to be unpacking, but we hadn't seen each other in so long, nothing much was getting done.

"So what's fun to do here, Hays?" I asked, lying on the floor with my feet propped up on my bed.

"The beach, I guess." She said, sinking down into my bean bag chair.

"Besides the beach. I was just there." Haylee grinned at me.

"So? Why don't you go again?"

"Been there, done that!" I said dramatically. "No, I mean like what's exciting here?" She shrugged.

"Like I said, the beach." She said. I groaned, drama queen style.

"No! Like really interesting." Haylee gave me a blank look. "Your hopeless!" I shrieked, before we both dissolved into giggles, even though it hadn't been that funny.

"Well, there is Swallow's Cove." She said when our hysterics were past.

"What's that?"

"I don't know. I've never been."

"What is it?"

"It's like a mile up from the beach. No one ever goes there, and no one really knows why." I perked up.

"That's stupid. We should go."

"But-"

"I don't see why we can't."

"But no one goes there. Ever."

"Well,_I'm_ going. Tomorrow. You can come if you want." Haylee shook her head.

"I can't. I've got heart-stuff tomorrow."

"You're just scared" I said bluntly.

"I know." She said. "You can go if you want, but I'm definitely not!" I shrugged.

"Your loss"

Little did I know but it was going to become my huge gain.

**Ehh, can't seem to get the creative juices flowing tonight. Sorry, RosemaryAlysse, I don't think I portrayed her very well.**

**TomandJerry96 - I promise I'll hurry up on Thalia's intro if you hurry up on En Grand Jete :p**

**Remember, let me know if you want to submit a guy for Bethany, Noelle, or Thalia, and I'll send you a form and some more info on the girls!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Intro: Thalia

**The character manipulator is back-and not sunburned! Just tanned: D I didn't get my new laptop set up in time, so I had to leave ya'll hanging. Sorry! I thought I could write more on the beach, but there were so many cute guys walking around it was hard to concentrate. So most of this got written on a car.**

**This chapter was a ton of fun. I got to ramble on about something I adore-CUPCAKES! But now I really really want one. And I still would like at least one more guy! Thanks for reading!**

**I promise, next chapter it'll really start. I've gotten that part written; now I just have to type it (ugh!) This is the last introduction chapter, for Mermaid #4, Thalia, created by DeGuddi formally TomandJerry96. (Check out her ((closed)) syoc Dance Academy story!)**

_POV: Thalia_

I leaned over the batch of now cooled pan of cupcakes and inhaled. Even though they weren't fresh out of the oven, they smelled heavenly._ Mmmmm, red velvet. _I grabbed an empty pastry bag and scooped it full of cream cheese frosting I'd prepared moments ago into it. I twisted the top closed and hunched over the cupcakes. I picked one up and piped a generous swirl onto it. _Gorgeous. _Whenall twenty four were topped with a pile of snowy frosting, I sprinkled them all generously with red sprinkles. _Even better. _

"You about finished with the red velvet, Thal?" called my mother from the front part of the bakery, the store part.

"Yup!" I said cheerfully, as I backed out the door between the kitchen and store, pan brimming with cupcake in hand. "Here they are!" Just as I finished arranging them in the glass display case, nestled in among the strawberry and chocolate cupcakes, the oven timer rang for another batch of cupcakes. I scurried into the kitchen and pulled the steaming pan out. There was no better smell in the whole world than fresh baked chocolate cupcakes, except of course fresh baked _dark_ chocolate cupcakes. My absolute favorite thing in the whole world. I was tempted to grab one, but it would be even better with all the fixings. I let them cool in their baking pan for a few minutes so they wouldn't stick to the liners and went to the stove to heat up some heavy cream for ganache. Just before it boiled, I pulled the pot off the burner and poured in a package of dark chocolate chips. I whisked the chocolate into the cream, and put it in the fridge to cool. Now that the cupcakes had gotten a chance to firm up, I moved them out of their baking pan and onto a tray to finish cooling. Now for the frosting. Dark chocolate butter-cream was good, but dark chocolate cream cheese frosting was to die for! I creamed butter and cream cheese together in the mixer, and added the dark cocoa powder. I reached for the huge bag of confectioner's sugar and dumped most of it in. It was way too much and found myself and my work space enveloped in a fine white cloud of dust. By the time I finished, the cupcakes and the ganache had cooled and thickened. I filled two pastry bags-one with the dark chocolate ganache, the other with icing, and began to fill and frost. With my experience, it didn't take long. It was way too hard not indulge in one of the sloppy ones, so I didn't try to use any self control, and took a huge bite. "So-o good." I breathed after it had been devoured. I was tempted to grab another, but then Mom would probably notice. She was with a customer when I came in with the delicacies, so I quietly arranged them in the display case and headed back to the kitchen. I didn't need to make anything else, but the kitchen was a wreak and the sink was overflowing with dishes. I rolled up my sleeves and fixed my hair back into a clip. The reddish brownish pixie cut was just long enough to do so. Piles of soap bubbles and foam formed quickly as I attacked the ganache pot. The noise of clanking dishes and the water running was just loud enough to cover up my singing. Doing dishes was the perfect time for singing-and thinking. My thoughts wondered and overlapped like waves. I already wanted to get back to see them. Up until a few months ago, I'd never seen the ocean before. Now, all I wanted to do was watch the waves. We-Mom, Dad, and myself ad moved here a little more than four months ago from Broken Hill, Australia. My mother owned and operated this place and I did lots of the baking. That's the only way I could get my pocket money. But I didn't mind. Though I was more of a tomboy than a girly girl, I loved baking-especially cupcakes. But the shop sold more than just cupcakes. We also made brownies, cookies of every variety, fudge, homemade candy, specialty coffees and teas, plus donuts and cinnamon rolls in the mornings. My father, who had been living in America until he met Mom, had been getting qualified as a judge while Mom and I had stayed in Broken Hill to pack up our lives and move clear across the world to South Carolina. We lived right on the coast, next to a tiny beach populated only by the locals. It was fabulous. I didn't have any siblings, so I wasn't very comfortable with people my age. Unless it involved bullies picking on other kids. Something inside me snapped whenever that happened, and I'd yell at the bully until I was blue in the face. My dad raised me to do two things-stand up for the weak, and always tell the truth, no matter what. Of course, the only people I had to be truthful to on a daily basis were my parents. The only thing I hid from them was my biggest fear. Lately, Dad had to work so much he was hardly ever home. My parent's relationship was getting tense and I was worried it might lead to a divorce. I finished the last of the dishes, enjoying the quiet solitude of the kitchen. I wiped off the counters, including my powdered sugar mess, and dried them. My stomach rumbled with hunger, and I went to the fridge to look for something to eat. As usual, it was full of nothing good, like sushi, or even better mayonnaise covered fries. Just tons of butter, eggs, milk, and whipping cream. I huffed a sigh and chose t supplement my hunger with one of yesterday's banana cream pie cupcakes. I had just finished it when Mom came in. "It's a slow day." she said, leaning on the counter, I squeezed my five foot, three inch frame next to her, and sat on the counter.

"I guess everyone prefers ice cream on a hot day like today." I said, rather longingly. It was a perfect day for a run with Oreo on the beach-my new-ly discovered favorite pastime- or a game of volleyball... with friends I didn't have.

"Why don't you take the rest of the day off? I've got everything here under control. If someone places a big order, I can always call you. Besides, you deserve some time with your friends. You've been working since school let out. I glanced at my toes._ What friends?_ I wanted to say. But because we'd moved just in time for the last few months of school, my parents expected me to have made some. I hadn't told them I was unable to break out of my shell and talk to the other kids, much less have any friends. I guess that was another thing I was hiding from them.

"Are you sure?" I asked,

"Yeah, its fine. You've already out done yourself today, Lia. Go ahead." I shrugged.

"Okay. I guess." I stood up and adjusted my waist shorts. "See you later. Bye, Mom."

_Freedom!_

No one was home, of course, when I unlocked the front door about ten minutes later. No one, but Oreo that is. A chorus of frantic greeted me as I fumbled with my keys. When I swung the door open, the black and white Border collie practically had a seizure, he was so excited.

"Hey, 'Reo." I said, kneeling down to pet him. He shoved his cold nose under my arm, whining for attention. "Did ya miss me?" I gently pulled on his ears. His feathery tail was wagging in full circles now, as he put one paw on my knee and the other on my shoulder and licked my face. "You need some exercise, don't ya fella?" I asked around a giggle, pushing him down. "Just a sec." I gave him one last pat, and ran to my room to change.

The main, one mile stretch of beach was always too crowded, especially on weekends, so I decided to take my jogging farther down, where the beach was only a few feet wide as it traveled down the coast. With Oreo by my side, I began running, my feet pounding on the sand. The dog leaped around me, yipping. "You can run circles around me!" I panted. He dashed into the waves and then back out again. I ran until my lungs screamed for air and my heart pounded like a freight train. In the distance, I could see a piece of land jutting out into the surf. It formed almost a semi circle shape with a rocky stretch of beach curving around before turning into trees. _A cove. It's a cove. _I thought. I'd never seen one before. Then it hit me._ So this is Swallow's Cove._ I'd heard a little about this place, but not too much. I only knew that no one ever went there and no one ever knew why. But it was really, really pretty, and it looked pretty harmless. One good thing about it was that it was defiantly not crowded. A perfect place to jog tomorrow. Mind made up, and too tired to go any further, I whistled for Oreo and we headed for home.

**Sorry for the funky writing for this one. The tenses are a little weird, and I think there is a couple run on sentences. And to ConfederatePrincess, RosemaryAlysse- I know this chapter is a little longer than the ones I did for Amanda and Noelle, but a huge chunk of it is cupcake fluff.**

I've got a great idea-leave a review!


	7. A Venture to Swallow's Cove

**Hi! Sorry for the delay, but I had to type a good portion of this from stuff I'd written. It takes twice as long with all the glancing down and losing your place and everything. But it's a long chapter. Hope you enjoy!**

POV: Bethany

I kicked at the sand, and sighed for the umpteenth time. I scanned the road-again. No one. I never should have agreed to let Amanda come. I'd been waiting for her for almost an hour now. But I guess I had said yes for _some _reason. Maybe I wanted her to come because I was lonely..._Maybe we'll become friends. _

_ What gives you that idea? _A nagging voice in my head jeered. _No one's ever wanted to be friends with you._

_ Oh shut up. Don't you think I know that? _I retorted to, er, myself. I plopped down on the sand with another sigh. Now would be the perfect time to reflect on past friendships. Unfortunately I couldn't do that. I hadn't ever been able to male friends for more than a few hours as a kid. In third grade, my family had moved from Kentucky to South Carolina. That's when I had decided I didn't need any friends. I resumed my pacing toward the beach where Ethan and I had been yesterday. It was tiny. Only about the size of a bus, and scattered with stones and boulders. But the waves were good. The beach part curved inward with a "C" shape, with a forest on either side of the beach where I was standing. The cove was about forty five minutes' walk from town. Above me, the land slopped upwards, covered with rocks and trees. I could see the narrow road that headed inland across the water. It was rarely used, in favor of the highway. It paralleled the shoreline until reaching the cove, before curving sharply inward. The shoreline approaching the cove stretched in a wide curve. From where I stood, I could see the small stretch of coastline, with narrow, well I guess they could be called beaches. Someone was jogging down them with a black and white collie type dog. I smiled to myself as the dog darted in and out of the surf. The jogger had dipped into the curve of the coastline and disappeared from view they would no doubt head back to the road. I wouldn't be able to tell because of one of the "arms" of tree covered land that created the "C" shape. Bored again. I turned. Through the trees of the other "arm", all I could see was the sparkling of the sun off the ocean, because the coastline curved so abruptly, it left Swallow's Cove jutting into the ocean. I turned back to the view of the road, only to see a car slowly make its way down it. It pulled over and he passenger door swung open and a blonde girl got out. _Finally. _I thought, watching Amanda retrieve a bag, and head into the trees. I tapped my foot impatiently as I waited for her to emerge onto the beach. _Any time now..._

"I though no one ever came here." came a statement of the obvious behind me. I turned, seeing the girl who had gotten out of the car, but not Amanda.

"Uh, me too." I said "But I thought that was stupid, so I came yesterday and I haven't died or anything yet."

"Oh. Well that's good. I just moved here, and my cousin told me no one ever comes here, so I thought it would be interesting." She said mischievously. The girl was blonde like Amanda, but up close, I could see it wasn't as long as hers, and it was a darker blonde than Amanda's platinum blonde locks.

"Yeah." I said lamely. "I wanted to have a look around."

"Me too. And I wanted to, you know, actually use the beach. The one in town is so-o crowded." She said dramatically. "I'm Noelle Lewis, by the way. I just moved here and I haven't met anybody."

"Uh, my name's Bethany Willis." I said quickly.

"Nice to meet you!" Noelle said enthusiastically, grabbing my hand and shaking it without my consent.

"Um, yeah. You too." I managed. Talking really wasn't my specialty. Noelle bent down and shucked her rope sandals.

"Wow, this looks like a great place to swim!" She half-squealed. I glanced down at my black t-shirt and denim shorts. I hadn't thought to bring a swimsuit. But then again, I wasn't here to swim. If Amanda wanted to, she would just have to swim with Noelle.

"Sorry I'm late!" I turned, to see Amanda finally arrive. "I couldn't get a ride, even though my mom told me she could take me yesterday. I guess step sisters are more important than keeping promises. I had to walk." She said, with a hint of bitterness. I shrugged.

"Its fine." was all I said. Behind me, Noelle piped up.

"Hi! I'm Noelle." She said brightly. "Did you guys have plans here?"

"Hi, Noelle. I'm Amanda. And yes, we were going to go exploring."

"Exploring?! That sounds way more fun than getting sunburned. Can I come?" Noelle asked. I offered my usual shrug, but Amanda said,

"Sure! The more the merrier, right, Bethany?" She elbowed me in the ribs. I flinched.

"I guess so..."

"Yay!" Noelle shrieked-right in my ear. "How big is this place anyway? Do you guys have a map? Have-" Before she could say anything else, a black and white dog sprinted past us, darting in and out of the surf, yipping excitedly.

"Grab his collar!" someone yelled behind us. Amanda ran after the dog, her long blonde hair flying. A petite girl ran onto the beach, and I recognized her as the jogger I'd seen earlier. Noelle fumbled her sandals back on and ran after Amanda and the dog. "He got away from me. He just took off and wouldn't come back. He never does this." She said breathlessly. We watched as Noelle and Amanda tried unsuccessfully to corral the dog between them. The dog wagged his tail and barked excitedly, as if it was all a game. The girl whistled, as if it was all a game. The girl whistled a high-low-high tone. "Oreo!" she yelled, "come here!" The dog lunged just out of reach of Amanda's reach, sending her tumbling into the sand. He sprinted towards us, trailed my Amanda and Noelle. All of the sudden, he turned and raced away from the beach and into the sloping forest. "No!" She shrieked. Amanda and Noelle gave chase. The girl and I followed. "Thanks." She called as we ran. "I'm Thalia."

"My name's Bethany" I said between breaths. Oreo's barks echoed through the pine trees, as did the others whistled and yells for him.

"Where did he go?" I heard Noelle yell.

"I don't know! He was right up there a second ago!" Amanda answered, obviously frustrated. Thalia and I crested the rise, only to see Amanda and Noelle.

"Do you see him?" I asked them.

"Not anymore." Amanda said, gasping for air. "He just disappeared." Thalia groaned, pushing her chin length hair back.

"He never runs off like this." She muttered.

"We'll help you find him, right guys?" Noelle supplied for us, before introducing herself and Amanda to Thalia. Suddenly, distant barking pierced the air.

"Oreo!" Thalia shrieked. She took off on the direction of the sound at a run. Noelle glanced at Amanda and me and shrugged. We followed.

"This is a great way to get in shape for soccer." Noelle muttered, matching my pace. I was suddenly grateful for my numerous early morning jogs.

"I hate running!" Amanda gasped, behind us. Pine needles and rock shrapnel crunched under my tennis shoes as I ran. The trees ended gradually, and the steep grade leveled out slightly as we got higher. Ahead of us, Thalia stopped, below a sheer rock face. The trees had all but stopped, creating a meadow of sorts, but the ground was rock. Sunlight sparkled off a small stream at the base of the cliff. Thalia whistled for Oreo again. No response. She bit her lip.

"Where could he have gone?" she said softly. Noelle glanced out at the ocean through the trees.

"We're pretty high up." she said nervously.

"We'll be fine." Thalia said, glancing around. Amanda sighed, drama queen style, and plopped down on a rock.

"What do we do now?" she moaned. I edged away from them. Teamwork wasn't my specialty.

"Yeah, what now?" Noelle echoed. I took a step backwards, wishing I could disappear. Thalia spun away from us.

"I don't know about you guys, since _you_ lost him, but I'm going to find my dog." Thalia said, rather arrogantly. Amanda and Noelle exchanged glances, and Thalia stalked off. She reached the stream, and jumped across. And then she was gone. Just like that. Gone. Amanda and Noelle both screamed and ran to the spot where she'd disappeared.

"Thalia? Thalia?" Noelle yelled frantically. "Are you okay? Where are you?" She turned to us, trembling. "She was right here..." she said with a whimper. "And then she jumped across and disappeared." She prepared to jump. "Where could she have-" As she leaped across, she disappeared with a shriek. Amanda screamed again. But now that we were closer, we could see where she had gone. It was a small cave-like thing in the rocks, in the hollow where the stream flowed. We both kneeled the opening.

"Are you guys okay?" Amanda yelled. We waited. Silence. "Noelle? Thalia?" More silence. And then a faint cry-"We're okay. I think." I couldn't tell if it was Noelle or Thalia though. Amanda and I sighed with relief.

"Can you climb out?" I called to them.

"I don't think so." One of them yelled back, I was pretty sure it was Thalia. "It's pretty steep." I sat back on my heels. Amanda stared at me as if she fully expected me to take charge of the situation.

"What now?" She said.

"Um, I'm going down to see if I can help them." Amanda nodded vigorously. I took a deep breath and eased my legs into the cave. I tried to climb down slowly, but the grade of the slope was too slippery and there were too many pebbles that I skidded rapidly down instead. My feet hit dirt and I jolted painfully to a stop. I stood up, bending slightly because of the low ceilings. "Are any of you hurt? I asked them, squinting in the low light. Thalia shook her head, but Noelle motioned to her bleeding knee.

"It's not bad, it just hurts a lot." She said, wiping off the blood with her sleeve. Thalia winced, and looked away. Her face was pale.

"Are you okay? You look awful." I asked her.

"Blood freaks me out." She whispered hoarsely. "But don't worry about me."

"How are we going to get out of here?" Noelle asked, obviously scared.

"Amanda's up there. She can go get help if we can't climb out." I said. Suddenly, there was a scuffling noise behind me, and a high pitched shriek. Amanda stumbled into view. I groaned.

"Why didn't you stay put?" I demanded.

"I thought you needed help." She said simply.

"How are we going to get help now?" Noelle moaned. "We're stuck down here." Amanda scratched her head.

"Sorry, I didn't really think things through." Thalia rolled her eyes, and I echoed Noelle's groan. Amanda flinched slightly and looked away. Thalia knelt by Noelle and helped her up. "There's a passage that way." She said pointing. "But I don't know where it goes. It might lead out." In the dim light, I could only make out a black space, but there was no way any of us would be able to climb back out. Besides, Thalia and Noelle were already disappearing into it. I started to follow them, but Amanda hung back. "Come on." I said. "It's my fault I didn't tell you to stay there." Reluctantly, she followed. It was even darker in the passage.

"I hate behind confined." Noelle whimpered.

"I have my phone." Said Thalia. "We could use the light of the screen to see." She pulled it out of her pocket and turned it on. The glow of the screen illuminated the darkness somewhat, but not much. "It doesn't have much battery left though." We walked along in silence. It was probably evening by now. Who knows where Oreo had gone. The passage fairly wide, but the ceilings were still low.

"This isn't going anywhere!" Amanda moaned behind me. We kept walking. After about half an hour of walking, Thalia's phone died. Immediately, I stubbed my toe in the darkness.

"Look-" Noelle said, pointing. "Light." Far ahead, I could see a faint light. We hurried to it. As we got closer, the passage brightened. The four of us entered a fairly wide, circular, domed space. Above us, the top of the dome opened up, revealing a darkening sky, with a few early stars shinning faintly. Taking up a good portion of the "room" was a perfectly round pool full of azure water. But the passage ended.

"It's beautiful," breathed Amanda.

"Yeah, but it's a dead end." Thalia said.

"If it connects to the ocean, it's not. We could swim out." I said. "Look, it has waves." They were tiny, barely noticeable. Thalia shook her head.

"No way. I'm not swimming into a shark infested hole. What if we get stuck down there?"

"There's no other way out." I stated. Noelle huffed a sigh and sat down on the sandy floor of the cavern room.

"I'll go first, just to be sure." She said, tugging off her sandals. "Wait here. If I'm not back soon, well, don't follow me." She waded in on a small ledge, and then jumped in the rest of the way. She treaded water for a moment, and took a deep breath, before disappearing below the surface. The wait was agonizing. We took off our shoes so they wouldn't fill with water and slow us down, and tied them around our wrists.

"She should be back by now!" Amanda whined. Just then, she appeared.

"It connects. It goes right into the open ocean, on the far side of the cove. I swam around a little and I saw the beach we were at earlier. Oreo was sitting there, waiting, Thalia."

"No way. I'm not going. I've never swam in open water before." Thalia protested. "I never even saw the ocean until a few months ago." I waded in to join Noelle.

"Come on, we'll help you. There's not even a current." She just shook her head.

"No, I can't do it." She said meekly. Amanda pulled off her bracelet and tucked it into her pocket.

"It'll be fine, Thal. There's no other way out." She took Thalia's elbow. "Let's go." She climbed into the water, Thalia reluctantly followed her, trembling.

"Wow, look, the moon's rising." Noelle said. I looked up. The full moon loomed over the edge of the top of the dome. It cast silvery light into the room. But when it touched the water, the water...glowed and bubbled. The moon moved gradually over the dome, until it fully covered the sky. By now, the whole pool was fizzling and glowing and tingling.

"Um, I don't think that's normal." Amanda said, after the moon had passed over the dome. I rubbed my arms. They still tingled.

"Let's go. I'm exhausted." I said. "I'll go first." I ducked under water. It was dark, and spooky. The sooner we get through, the better. I swam forward, after making sure the others were following me. When the tube of rock ended, I clawed my way to the surface, gasping for air. Thankfully, three heads popped up behind me a few seconds later. It was too dark to tell who was who.

"This way." I heard Noelle say, and we followed her. It took both Amanda and me to help Thalia, but we did it. After we dragged ourselves out of the water, we were greeted by a bouncing, excited Oreo. Amanda groaned.

"Now we just have to walk back! My step dad's going to kill me."

"Yep, I've defiantly got some explaining to do." Thalia joked. "I'm never coming back here again, that's for sure."

Nearly an hour later, I finally fell into bed. But sleep didn't come right away. For some reason, the weird moon incident stuck in my mind.

_What did it mean?_

**Yeah, a little cheesy. If you leave a review, you get virtual hugs!**


	8. Discoveries

**Hello, anyone who is reading this! Thanks to the few of you who reviewed. *hugs***

**If any of you have some ideas, let me know, because I'm lacking in those for future plot purposes.**

**And I decided to do another chapter from Bethany's POV. So guess what happens this time? Tails!**

I woke, stiff and sore. I guess I wasn't as in shape as I thought. I brushed tangled knots of hair out of my eyes. Ick, it was as stiff as a board. I'd been too tired to take a shower last night, and now my hair was encrusted with salt water. I swung my legs out of the sheets, and stretched. I loved early mornings. There was something so peaceful about them. I fired up my laptop to check my email. Another email from Alex. I sighed, and opened it.

_Hi Bethany, how are things? You still haven't responded to any of my messages. So this is kinda in vain, I guess. Oh well. My grandfather still isn't improving. Hope you've found some friends since I left. I miss you. _

_ Alex._

I felt the familiar tightening in my chest every time this happened. Alexander Thompson had been my only friend, ever. But now he was gone. I should reply, I really should. But Rose would be hogging the bathroom if I didn't hurry, so I grabbed some clothes and a towel and rushed to claim the bathroom first. I slipped out of my oversized t-shirt and sweatpants, and turned the shower on. I stepped in, the warm water rinsing away the sticky salt water residue. A tingling spread over my skin as I proceeded to shampoo. But the tingling continued to get stronger and stronger until, suddenly, it stopped. My legs suddenly refused to work, and I slammed into the shower door. "Ouch!" And then I saw it. I had a tail. A fish tail. A mermaid tail. I wanted to scream. But someone was knocking on the door.

"Bethany? Are you okay?" Ethan called through the door. I knew one thing. I couldn't let anyone see me like this.

"Um, yeah, I'm fine! Just dropped the shampoo bottle."

"Okay, well, don't tear the house down." I heard his footsteps retreat. I stared at the orange-y gold scales, and the freak out started again. What kind of dieses was this? Was I going to be stuck in this fish scale bra forever? I turned off the shower, and, using my arms, dragged myself out of the shower. I fumbled for a towel, sending my clothes tumbling to the floor. Fighting tears, I wiped the water out of eyes, and dried my arms. In desperation, I scrubbed frantically at the...tail. Just then, Rose sent the bathroom door trembling.

"Are you done yet?" She demanded. "Hurry up!"

"Just a minute!" I yelled. It probably wouldn't take a minute though. A random thought jumped into my head. The moon, over the pool in the cave. I didn't know how that and my...tail were connected, but I knew they were. Did that mean the other three had tails too?

"Bethany! Come on!" Rose wailed from the hallway. I strained to reach the hair dryer and flicked it on.

"Just drying my hair!" I said. I meant to use it for noise, but I decided to dry my hair anyway. Ignoring Rose's pounding, and ignoring the want to curl up and cry, I did my best to dry off. Maybe it would help. Ten minutes later, I slammed the hair dryer down, a sob rising in my throat. Then, a tingling spread over my skin again, and all the sudden, the tail was gone. My heart skipped a beat, and I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. _What? I get wet, grow a tail, and when I'm dry, it goes away? That doesn't make sense. _I dressed quickly, my limbs still feeling shaky. I braided my hair back, and opened the door, apologizing to Rose.  
"Sorry, I had to dry my hair." I lied. But there was no way I was going to tell her I had to get rid of my...tail. I ate a hurried breakfast, thankfully everyone was too busy to talk to me. I might have blurted out what had happened. I pulled on my shoes, and hurried. I didn't know where any of the others lived, but I had to find out…somehow. But I knew where Amanda worked, so I headed there. Now I had to make a plan of action. I couldn't exactly barge in there and ask her if she was mermaid, could I? _This is absolutely insane._

**Yeah, not as long as before. But I've got a surprise for you guys! It just might be another chapter! **


	9. Amanda's discovery

POV: Amanda

"I'm sorry!" I yelled for the millionth time. John, my stepdad, glared down at me. His bushy eyebrows knotted together.

"You were supposed to be back in time to babysit your brother. Your mom works tirelessly taking care of them, and this is how you repay her?"

"I said, I'm sorry! We were helping a girl find her dog, and we got lost." I didn't mention getting stuck in the cave, or the weird moon thing, or swimming out. I glanced at my mother. She was sitting on the couch, covering her face with her hands.

"John, it's okay. You don't have to yell at her. I don't mind." She said softly

"No, it's not. She broke her promise. You need to be harder on her, Elizabeth."

"Mom, I'm sorry. It won't happen again." I said, desperately. She shook her head.

"Your father's right, Amanda. You broke your promise to me. I have no choice but to-"

"_You_ broke_ your_ promise to me! You said you could take me, and then you had to take Lucy instead. And he's_ not_ my father." I yelled. I stormed out of the living room, pausing just long enough in the foyer to grab my bag, and ran outside, slamming the door behind me. I knew I'd be in even more trouble when I came home, but right now, and didn't care one bit. I brushed away the angry tears in my eyes, and swallowed hard. _How come whenever I'm mad, I cry? _ I kept my head down, and hurried down the sidewalk, not watching where I was going, and trying very, very hard not to cry. _It's so unfair. He always controls Mom. He only cares about his kids. I wish he'd never met Mom. I wish Dad had never left. I hate him!_ I wished I could call Grace, but she was probably in class right now. _How come when you need a sister, they're never there? _A hot tear slipped over my eyelid. I wiped at it angrily. I just needed some drawing time. By myself. Suddenly, I collided with something-someone. I looked up, only to find myself a few inches away from none other than Carter Johnson.

"Oh, uh, sorry." I said, quickly, trying to push my way past. My voice squeaked again. Defiantly still in the tear range. But he still held my elbow with one hand. Man, he was _strong_. And very, very sweaty. And attractive. My brain checked out.

"Are you okay?" He said, in his oh so deep voice.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said, still sounding like I was crying.

"You're crying."

"Don't you think I know that?" I snapped. "Just leave me alone. What are you, a stalker? First you show up where I work, and pretend to like books, then outside my house?" I glanced around, finding my house nowhere in sight anymore, but he didn't have to know that. I bit back a sob. All the yelling made the lump in my throat bigger.

"I was just going for a run..." He said softly.

"Whatever. Just leave me alone." I shook free and stormed off past him. He didn't follow. Usually, running was not my thing, but I broke into a jog. My canvas bag, where I kept my drawing stuff, bounced against my thigh. I didn't go very fast, but I didn't stop until I reached the road. I couldn't manage to run anymore, so I walked. I didn't know where I was going until I got there. For some reason, I found myself back at Swallow's Cove. It defiantly was beautiful. I sat down on one of the larger rocks, and took out my sketchbook. The day was overcast, making the waves almost silvery gray. There was actually a pencil in the spiral binding, so I didn't have to dig for one. I set to work, making the scene before come to life on paper. The tide was coming in so I worked quickly. A gust of wind blew my hair into disarray, and it was churning up quite a bit of ocean spray. Suddenly, the salty spray hit me, soaking my drawing-and myself. I groaned, watching the pencil lines smudge. "No!" I rubbed at the droplets with the hem of my shirt, but it only made things worse. And suddenly, my skin was crawling, like bugs were crawling all over me. And then it stopped. My legs were gone. My drawing pad was balanced not on my lap, but on a freaking _tail_. I screamed. My sweatshirt had been replaced with a bikini top type shirt, only it was made of _scales_. I looked like a…a mermaid. I glanced around, making sure no one was observing this, well, freak show. _No one comes to Swallow's Cove, idiot. _I told myself. _But there were four of you here yesterday. _Did that mean the others had tails too? _It's too weird. Mermaids don't exist. There is NO way this could be happening. _I pinched myself. Nope, I was awake. The sun peeked out through the clouds, sending the cooper red scales sparkling. My heart raced. Was I just supposed to get in the water now and never get out? The wind blew again, drying the droplets on my face and arms. More stubborn tears prickled at the back of my eyes_. No, no crying! _I sat there for what felt like a long time, staring at the thing that replaced my legs, and trying to convince myself I wasn't completely insane. Then, my skin started crawling again, and…my legs were back. I scrambled to my feet quickly, like if I didn't I'd grow another tail. I took deep breaths to slow my racing heart, and quickly gathered my things. I had to get out of here.


	10. Getting wet-Noelle's discovery

**Hi! Hopefully my lack of soccer knowledge doesn't completely ruin this chapter!**

POV: Noelle

"Come on, Ella, you can do better than that!" My brother Gabriel yelled to me, and the soccer ball I'd just kicked into the makeshift goal bounced off the side-again. "You won't even make the team if you keep kicking like that."

"My knee hurts. Besides, with a crappy goal like that, nothing will go in." I retorted, stopping the ball with my foot after he rolled it back to me.

"You wanna take a break?"

"Not really."

"Then shoot again. And make it go in this time." I nodded, and skittered back a few steps, lining up the ball in the goal mentally. I sprinted forward, and with a powerful kick, sent the black and white ball flying towards the goal. Gabriel dove for it, but it was too late.

"Yay!" I shrieked happily. We practiced several more times. I made it every time.

"Ready for some conditioning?" Gabriel asked me. I groaned.

"No. It's so hot. Besides, I ran a lot yesterday."

"Fine, then dribble down the yard. Don't let me get it." He rolled the ball back to me, and I took it between my feet, and began dribbling it between them as fast as I could while running down the yard. Gabriel used every trick in the book to get it away from me. I used my elbows to keep him at a safe distance, and blocked the ball with my body.

"Quit pushing me!" I said, shoving him back with a laugh. "You'll never get it that way." He couldn't even get it the regular way.

"Why do you even try?" I teased. "You can't beat me!"

"Oh yeah? How 'bout we try some harder stuff?"

"Nah, maybe tomorrow. I'm done for today." He shrugged,

"Yeah, me too." He said around a grin. I went inside, savoring the air conditioning. In the bathroom, I peeled off my sweaty pink t-shirt, and shoved the fly away strands of my ponytail back. I turned the cold water on and cupped my hands below the running water to fill them. I leaned over the sink, and splashed the water on my face. _Ahhh. _I did it again, and grabbed a towel. But before I could dry my streaming eyes, my whole body suddenly just….felt rubbery and tingly. And the next thing I knew, I was on the tile floor. And I was a…a mermaid. I clapped my hand over my mouth in utter shock. Was I hallucinating? Slowly, I reached towards the scale covered tail, and touched the red gold scales. They felt pretty real. _Was this some kind of joke? Some really really good joke?_ My clothes had disappeared, and even my hair tie was gone. Instinctively, I knew this had something to do with Swallow's Cove. Were the others mer-freaks too? I shivered, and grabbed the towel. I wiped my hands and face dry, like usual. I looked at the door. It was unlocked. What if someone came in and found me half-fish? I couldn't very well walk over to lock it, but I managed to drag myself to it and locked it. There. Suddenly, the weird feeling was back. Before I could ponder it, the tail was gone. _What in the world? _My clothes were back, messy ponytail and all. _I touch water…mermaid. I'm dry…human. This is so weird._ I turned the faucet on again, and, after a minute, dipped my hand in. Yep, once again, the weird feeling. Then, tail. I toppled over, slamming into the tiles backwards. "Ouch." I rubbed my banged elbow. I wiped my hand on the towel, and waited. A few seconds later, the tail was gone, and my legs were back. I smiled. _This is pretty cool. _I wanted to tell someone, but I knew I shouldn't. It was too weird. I'd be put in a circus or something. But maybe, since I'd been with Thalia, Bethany, and Amanda yesterday, and the whole mermaid thing hadn't happened until today, the same thing was happening to them. I'd didn't have their phone numbers or address, but this town was small. I should be able to find them. I decided not to take a shower, and just changed clothes, before heading out.

**Soon enough for ya? These chapter just wrote themselves! I'd make them longer, but I like having a new chapter every time the POV changes. Thalia's discovery will be up today or tomorrow! Also, if you have any ideas, let me know! Or if you still want to create a potential love interest that would be awesome too! Thanks for reading and reviewing!**


	11. A Rescue and a Find

**So last chapter I forgot to add an author's note. I made a mistake the first time in Amanda's introduction, and called the guy Chris instead of Carter. So yeah, please ignore and sorry!**

**Itcorreia and CopperFlash: I can't PM you guys because you have it disabled, so I'm doing it here. Thanks so much for following! Would either of you be interested in creating a minor character?**

**This chapter is written a little differently than my normal writing style…**

POV: Thalia 

Running was the best way to clear my head. I let my racing heart and heaving lungs and churning muscles do their thing, and de-stress me. I'd left Oreo at home today, after what happened yesterday. It was early, hardly a sole was out on the beach_. I'm heading back. I said I wouldn't but I'm jogging right towards it_. The thought bothered me. I left the commercial part of the main beach, and towards the deserted part. The thing with the moon last night had been too weird. Something had happened last night. Something strange. As it got harder and harder to keep my pace, I slowed to a walk for a quick break. I breathed deeply, trying to slow my heart rate. My thoughts flashed back to swimming in the open ocean last night, and I shivered. It was like swimming in ink. I had had no idea what was lurking below me or where those things were, or if I could make it back to land. It had been terrifying. Someone shouting brought me back to reality. I glanced up from my feet, and looked around. I didn't see anyone though, and I didn't hear the yelling. I kept walking. There it was again. It sounded like someone was saying…help. _The ocean. _Amidst the foamy swells created by the wind, I caught sight of someone drowning. He waved frantically at me, trying to get my attention. Every instinct told me to save him, but deep in my mind, I could only think about last night.  
"Help me-please!" the call came again. Without a second thought, I ran headlong into water. _Just don't think about the current. Think flat water-a pool. _I started swimming frantically as his signaling. The waves were strong, and just before I reached him, the current was so strong, and my legs were refusing to work. I went under, but somehow, managed to get above the water again. I grabbed the boy's surfboard, and pushed the other end towards him.

"Grab hold, hurry." I said, fighting the swells. He scrambled on, with me pulling him by the arm. I swam like mad to the shore. The boy, about my age, kept coughing and coughing. _Is he dying? What's going on? _The water was shallow enough to stand, but…I couldn't stand. I tried, but I couldn't. Because my legs weren't there.

"Oh my gosh." I whispered, looking down. I fled back into the water. _You've hit your head. You're insane. This can't be for real. _But there it was. A tail. "I am NOT a mermaid!" I whimpered. "This is crazy!" But I couldn't let him see me. He stumbled onto the beach, and fell over. It was very hard to stay in one place with this tail thing, but I had to make sure he was okay. After a minute, he glanced around. _He's looking for me! _I ducked under the water, fighting panic. I was surprised how easy it was to see, and to hold my breath. I waited for about five minutes, before surfacing. He was gone. Had he seen me, in all my freakish glory? If he had, and he told other people, I'd be…locked up or something. _Am I just supposed to swim off into the ocean now? _This swimming was exhausting, especially without legs. But I couldn't really haul myself onto the beach where everyone could see me. There was only one place to go-Swallow's Cove. I could see it from where I was, and after a few minutes of maneuvering, I figured out how to swim without legs. I ducked under the water again, and headed towards. The going was slow, and exhausting, swimming along like a worm. But it was actually pretty cool. I could hold my breath for much longer than normal, and I could see pretty clearly underwater too. When I finally managed to haul myself onto shore, my limbs felt like lead. I stayed near the trees on the far side, just to be safe. Once I was out of the water, I propped my arms behind my head and reclined. _Swimming is hard_. I thought, just before drifting off.

_Something's happening_. I woke up and the sight of my tail shocked me. My skin felt all tingly and weird. _What's going on? _And then my tail was gone. _What? _This was too weird. I checked my watch, I should be back by now to help Mom at the bakery. I needed to find the others too, and see if they'd experienced the same thing. This was getting pretty freaky.

**Thanks for reading, and hopefully, reviewing! This chapter was a little different than my normal writing style, so how was it? Also, any thoughts on the boy she rescued? I don't quite know what to do with him…**


	12. Problems of a mermaid sort

**Hey! Thanks for reading! This chapter is pretty short, but I decided just to post it instead of doing a longer chapter. **

_POV: Bethany_

_Water is everywhere. _I'd never realized how much there was-until now. And I was avoiding it all costs. I hurried down the street, thinking of that freakish…tail. _Will it come back again? Or was it a one-time thing. I don't know._ The bookstore where'd I'd met Amanda came into view. I ran the last couple steps to it. I pushed open the heavy door, inhaling the musty smell of books. I went to the front. A college aged woman stood behind the cash register, taping away on her phone.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"Is Amanda here?"

"No, sorry hon, she doesn't work today."

"Do you have her phone number or address?" The lady shook her head. "Well, thanks anyway." I left. _What do I do now? _I stepped out into the sun again, frustrated. _Where were they?_

"Bethany!" Someone yelled across the street behind me. I turned and saw Noelle, running towards me.

"Hi." I said. I wanted to ask her if she was half-fish now too, but the question was just too weird. "How's your knee?"

"It's fine. Um, has anything, you know, _weird_ happened to you lately?" She asked nervously. I nodded. "Did it involve, uh, fish?" I nodded again. "…like fish_ tails_?"

"Uh-huh. You too?" She nodded and grabbed my arm, pulling me down the road.

"Do you think it happened to the others too?" She said.

"If it happened to us, I don't see why it wouldn't happen to them." Noelle glanced nervously around.

"We can't tell anyone." She whispered. "We need to go somewhere where no one will hear us."

"We could go to my house. No one should be home for a few hours."

"Okay." Noelle shook her head. "This is too weird."

"But you gotta admit, it it's kinda cool." We grinned at each other. Ahead, I spotted Thalia, carefully avoiding a puddle of water. She waved at us, and hurried to join us.

"Did it happen to you guys too?" She asked excitedly. "You know, the whole…" she dropped her voice to a whisper, "mermaid thing?" We both nodded.

"It's freaky." I said. "One minute I was taking a shower, and the next thing I knew, I had a tail."

"And when I was dry, it was gone." Thalia said.

"We need to find Amanda." Noelle said. But none of us knew where she lived or her phone number.

"I saw her." A very deep voiced someone said to my left. "She was on Fenway street, heading towards the beach."

"Uh, thanks, Carter." I said. In all the years we'd been going to school together, I'd never heard him speak so fast-or so much. He dipped his head in an awkward nod, and jogged off.

"Who was that?" Noelle, said after he'd left hearing distance, ogling the retreating figure.

"His name's Carter. I don't know him that well." I supplied. "Let's go find Amanda." It didn't take long. After only a few minutes, we encountered her, walking warily towards us. She waited until she was very close to speak.

"Something really weird just happened to me." She said, obviously weirded out. "And it hasn't happened since I was with you guys yesterday."

"A …tail?" I asked quietly. She nodded, and looked to be on the verge of tears.

"I didn't ask for any of this! I'm a freak. What if someone finds out?" She said, her voice rising to a squeak.

"She's right." Thalia said. "If someone fins out…we'd be locked up, or put in a circus. We have something other girls like us don't have. People would be afraid of us." Noelle gave a vigorous nod.

"No matter what happens, we're in this together."

**So it's pretty obvious I re watched the first episode for some inspiration. Some of the things are almost direct quotes, because I'm feeling lazy and depressed because I only have one day left of summer vacation. *sobs* **

**Thanks for reading! Why don't you leave a review to cheer me up?n**


	13. Adjustment

**Hey anyone who hasn't given up on me! I am soooo sorry I haven't updated for nearly two weeks. I meant to! I really did! It's been sitting on my "to do list" for a whole week now. But homework comes first now that school started again **

**This chapter is pretty much just filler, but next chapter will be better, and the adventures will begin. I promise!**

_POV: Bethany_

"So we touch water and ten seconds later, _wa-la_, mermaid." Noelle said, pacing around on the beach at Swallow's Cove.

"And when we're dry, it's gone." Amanda finished for her, from her perch on the sand. "But that's all we know."

"How do we find out more?" Thalia asked, tracing a heart in the sand. After sharing our experiences, we'd decided to head here, to Swallow's Cove to talk privately and find more about what was happening.

"Easy." I supplied. "We get in the water."

"Right now?" Thalia said, raising her eyebrow.

"Why not?" I said with a shrug. "You said you were in the water when it happened, and you had to swim here."

"And we won't know more about it if we never change back." Noelle interjected, tossing her hair back.

"It was really hard to swim without legs…" Thalia said, lamely. Amanda huffed a sigh.

"Stop making excuses, Thal. You're a mermaid now, so make the most of it!" She grabbed Thalia's wrist and, ignoring her protests, dragged her to the water. Noelle and I followed. The four of us stopped at the water's edge, and grasped hands. The tide ebbed and flowed inches from our feet.

"You know, we're mermaids." Amanda said softly, a touch of awe in her voice.

"And we haven't even tried swimming." Noelle said with a giggle.

"Well?" I said, cocking my head to one side. The other three grinned at me, and we raced into the waves. Then, very ungracefully, we all toppled into the foamy surf, legs gone.

"That did _not _work." Amanda said, laughing. Thalia un-stuck a lock of hair from her cheek.

"Kinda forgot about the whole tail thing." She said, just as a wave slammed into her. Noelle howled with laughter as Thalia came up, sputtering. "You guy's still want to swim?" She said sarcastically, trying to maneuver her tail around. I wiggled my way into deeper water, and ducked under the water, and began swimming. Everything was as clear as it was above water, and I didn't have to come up every twenty seconds for air.

"This is amazing!" I said, after we rendezvoused a short distance away from where we'd started. "There aren't words to describe it!" I said. Amanda beamed, and wiped her streaming eyes.

"Everything's so clear! I wonder how long we can hold our breaths, and how fast we can go."

"Wanna find out?" Thalia said, grinning.

"Like, race? Amanda said, grinning back.

"To where?" Noelle said.

"How about the pool where it happened?" I interjected. "It should be around here somewhere."

"That place was creepy." Thalia said, blushing.

"That's only because it was nighttime." Noelle said. "So are we racing or not?"

"Eat my dust-err, air bubbles!" Amanda shrieked. "Well, if I can figure out how to swim with this tail."

"On the count of three. One, two, three, go!" I yelled, and the four of us dove simultaneously down into the water. Once I'd gotten the hang of it, and figured out how to go fast, it was easy. _This is so-o cool! We must be going at least as fast as a boat! _ The air bubbles tickled my face, and the water wrapped around me like silk. But none of us could beat Amanda. We swam into the narrow underwater entrance where we had been just last night, and surfaced into the dim cave. We swam to the rock "shore" and settled on the ledge, all talking at once.

"This is freakin' awesome!" Noelle said, splashing. "I mean, it's totally weird and I still might be dreaming. But if I am, this is one awesome dream!" She said, talking fast.

"It's so weird. But I like it!" Amanda said.

"I think it's a little freaky." Thalia said, quietly, slipping further down into the water. "But still cool."

"But it's going to be hard to keep a secret. I never realized how much water is everywhere." I said.

"You guys, we can't tell_ anyone_." Noelle said, suddenly serious. "Can you imagine what would happen if someone found out we were half fish?" Immediately, my thoughts went to Ethan. My brother and I had been going to the beach together for ages. Now, all the sudden, I was going to have to pretend I didn't want to anymore. Next to me, Amanda frowned.

"I never realized how hard that would be. I tell my older sister everything." She rolled on her back to rest her elbows on the rock ledge. "But she's away at college, so I guess I don't have too much to worry about. Except that maybe one of my stepsiblings might spill their chocolate milk on me and _boom,_ mermaid."

"I guess I can't do the dishes anymore." Thalia said, still sounding rather bewildered. "This is going to be tougher than I thought."


	14. A Mermaid's Got Problems: Amanda

**See? Told ya I would update soon! Keep up the encouraging reviews. This is one of the longer chapters I've written, and its pretty good, if I do say so myself :D**

**Enjoy!**

_POV: Amanda_

Being a mermaid had its drawbacks, but swimming wasn't one of them. I swam whenever I had the chance. The four of us could already swim much faster than the average human, but I could go faster than all of them. The water rushed by me, the air bubbles tickling my stomach. A school of silvery fish freaked out ahead of me, and dissolved into pairs as I passed. I smiled to myself and surfaced. I could hold my breath for over ten minutes, and I still didn't need to breathe, but somehow, being under the water makes you all disoriented. The warm breeze dried the immediate moisture of my checks, as I tried to figure out where I was. Spotting the secluded but still close to home spot on the beach where I'd left a towel and some other things, I slipped back under the water and rocketed towards it. After not so gracefully hauling myself up onto the dry sand, I reached for the fluffy towel and began drying off. I wasn't any hurry, but I didn't want to wait for three hours for my hair to dry either. When my skin and scales were mostly dried off, I wrapped my hair into the towel, turban style, and leaned back onto my elbows to watch to pitching waves. The sunshine glinted off the coppery red scales of my tail, and the sound of the ocean and spray of the sea-a safe distance away from me- was relaxing. For once, my world was all as it should be. For now. Any minute now, something was going to happen, and the world I'd put back together with chewing gum and band aids was going to break. It always did, somehow. I sighed. At least it wasn't cracking yet. Suddenly, behind me, I heard nonchalant footsteps. I whirled my head around. Here I was sitting in all my mermaid glory, and someone was coming. I could tell they were running. I saw a head of dark brown hair appear, and I knew who it was a second later. Carter Johnson-again. My heart thumped wildly in my chest, as someone was about to discover my secret.

"Don't come any closer!" I shrieked desperately. The footsteps stopped.

"Um, okay." He said, his voice very deep, as usual. I didn't think he could see me from where he was, but I could see him. He stood awkwardly, peering around. Suddenly, he spotted me.

"Amanda? What are you doing here?" No _"you're a freakin mermaid"_, or gasps of surprise. Nothing. _He can't see my tail. _I sighed with relief, until he started towards me.

"No-wait!" I yelled. "Stay there!" He stopped in mid stride.

"Why?" _Because I don't want you to see I'm a mermaid!_

"Uh, well, just a minute!" I called in a sing-song. "I'm, um, I'm changing clothes!" I watched him turn beet red.

"Why?" He repeated. _What guy asks a girl __that!_

"Uh, the water line at my house broke, so I'm, uh, taking a bath." _No! Don't say that!_

"In the ocean?" He asked dumbly. I laughed nervously.

"Uh, yeah. It'd better than nothing." I said.

"Well, uh, sorry for trespassing on you." He said, turning to go. I sighed with relief.

"Thanks for not, you know, spying on me or anything…like that." I said awkwardly. He stood with his back to me for a moment, then disappeared.

"That was close!" I whispered to myself. And just then, my mermaid GPS decided I was dry enough, and I changed back. Laughing, I shook my head. This was going to be great.

Nearly half an hour later, I sprinted up the front steps, and dashed across the porch. I opened the door, the very squeak sounded guilty. I was late-again. After my near exposure by Carter, I'd taken the long way home to avoid him. As quietly as I could, I slipped through the foyer and past the dining room and joint kitchen. My mother and John were sitting on the sofa in the living room, talking in hushed voices.

"I'm so-o sorry I'm late." I said quickly. "I'll watch the br-kids as long as you need me to." I was going to have to stop calling them brats in my head, or one day I might say it out loud. John stood up and sighed. Mom glanced up at him, utterly submissive. He was so controlling!

"You were late two days ago, and yesterday you deliberately walked out when I was talking to you. You didn't come home yesterday until evening, and now you think you can just waltz in here and think everything is fine?" He shook his head. "Your mother and I want what's best for you, but you are making things very hard for us." He rubbed his temples, very dramatic of him. "We told you to be home by four, and you're nearly a half hour late."

"I'm sorry, I…" _You what? Almost got caught in all your mermaid glory? _"I lost track of time." I said, the excuse sounding very lame. "I'll try better next time." For several agonizing seconds, the only sound was the kids playing on the back porch. Then Mom spoke.

"Amanda, honey, you know we go out on Tuesdays." She said softly. "This can't happen again." I nodded. I didn't want to be in trouble again.

"Since you've been late to watch your siblings for the past several days, your mother has had to cover for you." John said. "And to make up for that, I want you to watch them all day, until Saturday. No leaving to socialize with your friends, no phone calls, nothing. And your mother gets a week off." I felt my eyebrows shoot up. I was basically grounded, except now I had to babysit the step-brats, probably without getting paid.

"But-" I stuttered.

"No buts." John said forcefully. He turned to Mom, "It's already been decided. We'll be back around ten. Make sure Jimmy's in bed by eight, and Lucy by eight- thirty." I stared at him, slack jawed. The door to the back porch opened, and the step-brats ran inside and into the kitchen.

"And one more thing, Amanda." Mom said, rising from the couch. "I know John isn't your biological father, but he is your father figure. We would like you to apologize for what you said yesterday morning. For saying he wasn't your father." _But he's not! _ The silence stretched.

"Well? We're in a hurry." John said. I opened my mouth but no words came out.

"uh…" I managed. "But, Mom, he really isn't my dad!" I blurted. "I have the right to state the truth!"

"You have no right to speak to either of us that way!" John boomed. "Apologize!" The tears threatened to spill now. _Why do I cry when I'm mad? Why? _All of the sudden, Jimmy ran into me from behind. And spilled water all over me.

"Oops! Sowwy, Manda." He gurgled, picking up his cup-thankfully a plastic one. Panic seized me. _Oh my gosh! What do I do! _Out of the corner of my eye, I spied the downstairs bathroom. I fled.

"Amanda!" John yelled behind me. I bolted inside and locked the door, just before my tail appeared, and I flopped down on the cold tile.

"Manda's in trouble!" I heard Lucy giggle. The knob jiggled, and Mom tapped softly on the door.

"We'll talk about this when we get back." She said sternly. "But we have to go." I heard the front door close, and cartoons started on the TV. I let the tears come. My world had broken again. It was time for more band aids.

**What did ya think? The more reviews I get, the more encouragement I get! But, homework calls, so I won't start another chapter. **


	15. Hydrophobia: Noelle

**Long chapter ahead! Enjoy!**

_POV: Noelle_

I've always been a dancer. Ever since I was little. I started taking ballet when I was four. When I was eight, my dad took me to a new class. We'd just moved again, and I had been loath to leave my old dance teacher behind. I'd been complaining for days. In his haste, he didn't notice it wasn't a ballet class, but ballroom. It also started at ten years old. But there hadn't been many students, and I was the only one who actually wanted to be there, so the teachers let me stay. Like I said, I've always been a dancer. Dancing was my passion. I'd never been nervous about it before. But now, I was. I had yet to find a place to practice ballet, but my mother had found a studio for ballroom. My sweaty hand slowly unlocked the passenger door of my brother's car.

"Come on, El, you're going to make me late." Gabriel said. He took a drink from a water bottle. My heart jumped. My mouth was dry. My hands trembled so much I could barely open the door. I grabbed my bag, and climbed out. I'd never been this nervous to go to a new dance studio. With all the moving we did, you got used to it. But then again, I'd never been a mermaid before. Gabriel waved from inside the car, and drove away. My heart hammering in my chest, I headed into the community center. I passed by a couple of rooms, a summer camp, a yoga class, a meeting behind a shut door. The gym was filled with a sports camp. Following the sound of classical music, I entered a large, mirror paneled, dimly lit studio. There were less than a dozen teenagers in there, some were barely preteens, and some looked as old as Gabriel. They were all scattered about the room, warming up. A woman about in her late twenties smiled at me and walked up to me.

"Noelle Lewis?" She said, smiling again, showing very white teeth. I gave her a shaky smile, and nodded.

"Hi." I said softly. Any minute now, someone was going to dump a bucket of water on me. I just knew it.

"Hi yourself!" The woman said, tossing her long blonde hair out of her eyes. "Your mom called us and told me you'd be here today. I'm Courtney." She said. We shook hands. "Your mom said you've dancing for a while. You do ballet to, right?" She said.

"Yes, but contemporary and jazz too." I said, finally finding my voice. "And ballroom, of course."

"You have a favorite style?" Courtney asked,

"I like everything, but anything upbeat is my favorite. Especially jive, and cha-cha." I answered.

"That's great!" She said, "Now that you're here, everyone has a partner. And your new partner likes jive too." She said brightly. She turned to the rest of the students. "Christian, come meet your partner!" She yelled. One of the five boys broke away from a conversation, and walked towards us. My stomach flip-flopped. He smiled at us, and his eyes crinkled up at the corners. He had a dimple on his left cheek.

"Hey," He called, his grin never faltering. He stopped in front of us.

"Christian, this is your new partner, Noelle." She said. Somehow my mouth obeyed and I smiled. He had short, chestnut brown hair, and green eyes.

"Hey." He said again, "I'm Christian." He knelt by one of the many bags strewn around the edge of the room, and pulled out a water bottle. He stood back up, and took a drink. My heart just about stopped. "You like to dance?" he said, oozing confidence.

"Uh, yeah." I managed.

"What's your favorite?" He said, wiping his mouth with his sweatshirt sleeve, before pulling the sweatshirt off. I cleared my throat.

"Um, jive. I like fast…things." I wanted to disappear. I sounded like an idiot.

"Cool." He said, tossing the bottle carelessly back to the general vicinity of his backpack. _Be careful with that thing_! I wanted to scream. _One drop, and I grow a tail!_

"You warmed up yet?" Courtney asked Christian.

"Yeah, pretty much." He said.'

"Good. You can introduce Noelle to the others. I've gotta go get changed, but I'll be right back. Be ready to start when I get back." She left, and Christian turned to me, still grinning.

"You wanna warm up first?" He asked. Again, panic seized me.  
"…uh, yeah. One second." I slid my bag off my shoulder, and kicked off my flip flops. I pulled off the shorts and t-shirt I was wearing over my dark pink leotard and black leggings. I scooped my dark blondish hair into a ponytail, and followed Christian towards the other dancers. There were, for once, more boys than girls, excluding me. Now there were ten of us, five boys, and five girls. "Guys, this is Noelle." He said, stretching his left arm. He switched to his right. "Noelle, this is Kat." He motioned to a tall girl with long blonde hair. "And her partner Jared." He pointed to an equally tall guy with mousy brown hair. "And they specialize in the paso doble." I gave a little wave to them. "And this is Elizabeth," Christian said, pointing to a petite brunette, "and Ben, her partner. They foxtrot for competitions." I greeted the two. "This is Carrie and Easton, and they kill at Viennese Waltz." Christian said. "And last, is Marcella and Jase. They do Latin, but they're really good at the tango." He said. "What do you like best?" Christian said, turning to me. My brain checked out again.

"Um, I like cha-cha…and jive. Quickstep's fun too. I don't know" I mumbled. Luckily, Courtney arrived, changed into a blue tank top and white athletic shorts.

"You guys warmed up?" She asked, joining us. I really wasn't, but I didn't say so. "Go get your shoes on." I scurried to my bag, and pulled out my low black heeled dancing shoes. I slipped my feet in and fastened the strap around the ankle. Next to me, Kat, clad in her shoes, was slipping a headband over her blonde locks. "How does this class work?" I asked her, fixing my own ponytail.

"Basically, we all work on some technique for the first ten minutes or so, and then you practice your routines with your partner." The blonde said cheerfully. "Come on, I'll show you. It's super easy." I followed her to the center of the room, hopefully away from all the water dangers. Before we could get more than a few steps, Easton darted in front of Kat, in mid-drink of his water bottle. They collided, and the water sloshed all over Marcella.

"Easton!" She squealed, staring down at her soaked leotard.

"Oh, sorry." He mumbled. But the apology didn't cut it. Marcella pulled out her water and squeezed it, sending a stream of water all over Easton. Some of it got on Jase too.

"Hey, watch it!" He yelled, squirting water in the general direction of where Marcella was. It ended up getting all over Christian and Elizabeth. It was my worst nightmare. Pretty soon, Carrie and Ben were retaliating too.

"Guys, stop it!" Courtney yelled. Reluctantly, they did so. Laughing and water splattered, they put their water bottles back. But not before Jase squirted a little more on Christian.

"Hey!" he yelled, throwing his water bottle without letting go so the water all sloshed out. But it didn't land on Jase. It landed on me.

"Oh no." I whispered, staring at my wet arm in shock.

"Sorry, Noelle." Christian said. I looked at him blankly. _What the heck do I do now?_ I bolted. I barely made it into the hall and into the bathroom before, _wham, _and mermaid. "Ouch." I closed the door, and sat against it so no one could open it. It took a long time for me to stop shaking. Even when my legs reappeared, I stayed in the bathroom until I was sure class was over. Reluctantly, I got up and trudged back to the studio to collect my bag, only to find it not vacant. I watched as Christian danced. His headphones where in, so he probably hadn't heard me come in. The lights were off too, so he probably couldn't see me. The only light came from the small window, filled with the amber light of the setting sun. If I went to get my bag though, he would see me. Silently, I watched. He was, by no means, even acquainted with ballet. His technique was terrible. He was doing some contemporary thing. It was pretty angry, and messed up. I thought about leaving, but I didn't want to go home without my stuff. Abruptly, he stopped dancing. I knew he hadn't seen me because his back was still to me. _Get out of here! He'll see you! _But my feet were frozen. He took his headphones out. And turned. After a moment, his green eyes flashed with the knowledge that someone was there.

"Was it any good?" He asked. I cleared my throat.

"Uh, it was very…passionate." I said quietly, scurrying to get my stuff.  
"Yeah." I hooked my bag over my shoulder and headed quietly to the door.

"However, you could work on your technique." I heard myself say. "But the emotion was there." His laugh followed me out the door. The door closed behind me, and I started down the hall. Behind me, the door opened.

"Noelle, wait-" Christian said. I turned. "Sorry about getting water on you."

"Uh, it's okay." I whispered.

"Will you come back next class?" He asked. "I really need a partner." I found myself nodding.

"Just promise there will be no more water fights." I said with a grin.

"Sure thing." He said, returning my grin. "Bye." And with that, he went back into the studio, and his grin never faltered. As I walked down the hall, neither did mine.

**Yay! 1674 words! I think that's the longest chapter ever! For all my effort, I expect a review! I'll get to them discovering their powers soon, I promise!**


	16. What?-Thalia

_POV: Thalia _

"No, Oreo. Stop!" Frantically, I pushed my dog away. My mom was in the next room, and one lick from Oreo, and my secret would be out. Finally, I clamped my hand over his jaws, and shoved his head away from me. Looking dejected, he slunk off.

"Sorry, boy." I said. This mermaid thing was sure hard to get used to. I'd had to lie yesterday and today and pretend I was too contagiously sick to work at the bakery. With all the dish washing and water adding to the cupcakes and stuff, I wouldn't even last an hour there. The other girls wouldn't stop going on about how much fun swimming was, but I wasn't a big fan. It was okay when we all swam together, and I was in the middle, and we didn't go too fast, but by myself? In the middle of the whole freakin' ocean. No thanks. So far, it was kind of a nuisance. I couldn't swim, I couldn't shower, and I couldn't even get a drink unless I was careful. I trudged upstairs to my room, hot and sweaty after a run. But nope, no shower. I flopped on my bed, facedown, and let out a moan to end all moans. _This is the pits. _I knew Mom wouldn't let me shirk my duties at the bakery again today after not being able to produce so much as a used tissue or more than a forced cough. Somehow, I was going to have to avoid water. And it wasn't going to be easy. My gaze alighted on my guitar, perched on my window seat. Feeling the need to vent, in the style I always did, I dragged myself off my bed and cradled the guitar in my lap. No songs came to mind, so I strummed some chords and hummed along for a while. Apparently, being a mermaid zapped my creativity too. I heaved my guitar -gently- away and stomped back downstairs. I had work to do.

I leaned on my elbows on the counter, eyeing the empty bakery. I had managed to persuade Mom to let me run the cash register, where, hopefully, there'd be less water dangers. My eyes alighted on the half size refrigerator, stocked with sodas, juices, and bottles of water. If a customer ever came in and ordered one of those, I'd be done for. Even from here, I could see the cans dripped condensation. I shuddered.

"Hey, Mom, can I go?" I yelled back to the kitchen. "It's almost closing time, and now one else is coming." My mother emerged from the kitchen drying her hands with a dish towel. I shuddered again.

"It's not even five o clock yet." She said, pointedly. "We close in over an hour."

"Yeah, but no one ever comes in after five anyway." I said quickly. "Can I please go?" She heaved a dramatic sigh.

"I suppose." She said reluctantly. "But I'll need you in here bright and early. You've been neglecting your duties here lately."

"I know, I'm sorry. I'll do better. I promise." I said, itching to leave. She nodded, and I practically bolted out of there. I could do whatever I wanted now. Then I remembered. _Nope, nothing involving getting wet. _I groaned, and almost decided this was pointless. But I decided not to let my fear get the best of me. _I'll just take a walk. Away from the water. _I started out. Before I knew it, I was heading towards the marina_. I can't go there_. I mused. _I'll fall in, or get sprayed_. But, I shoved my fears down, and jutted my chin out. I _would_ conquer this mermaid business. As I approached the marina, dotted with its outdoor cafes and cute little shops right on the waterfront, I saw a group of guys, my age. I recognized some of them from school. My heart started pounding, and prickles of sweat broke out along my spine. The only thing worse than people my age was boys my age. As inconspicuous as possible, I sat down on a bench, wishing I had my cellphone with me so I would look like I was doing something instead of just sitting there. They were standing on the pretty much vacant docks, throwing pebbles into the water, and laughing loudly. One of them, with longish black hair, was standing somewhat away from the rest, further from the water. _Maybe he's a mermaid too…er merman_. I thought, sneaking glances, and hoping they wouldn't notice me. I gave my fingernails a thorough inspection while listening to their banter.

"Hey, Ryan, get over here!" One of them yelled. The boy who was standing further away from the water shook his head.

"Uh, no thanks. I'll just stay here. I've got to get going anyway." He said, rather nervously, flipping his hair out of his eyes.

"Aw nah, come one, we just got here!" Another one of them said, stepping towards the one they called Ryan. He took a step back, causing guffaws from the others. The two guys that had already talked to him both took a step closer and grabbed his arms. Half dragging him, and laughing like hyenas, one of the others picked up his legs and then, practically giggling, they threw him into the water. Slapping hands triumphantly, they sauntered away.

"He's afraid of water!" one of them said, laughing.

"What a scaredy cat." They headed towards my bench. My heart started racing, and goose bumps broke out along my arms. I glanced towards the water, realizing that the guy they threw into the water was nowhere to be seen. In fact, he had all but disappeared. My stomach clenched. _He's drowning._ I realized. The group of six or so was heading straight towards me. I jumped up, barely knowing what I was doing. I sprinted towards the docks. _ What the heck are you doing?! _ I demanded of myself. It was like I was someone else, or someone who had no control over her body. I found myself diving into the brackish water. I felt the tell-tale tingling spread across my skin, and, stopped kicking. My tail appeared, and I wobbled a little, trying to get my 'balance', with my tail. It didn't take long. Once I could tread water, I glanced around, for the first time actually using my mermaid vision. My eyes alighted on the rapidly sinking body. He had evidently been thrashing around, trying to swim. He had kicked up clouds of mud, making it hard to see. But he was unconscious now. _What do I do now? I can't exactly take to him to shore in all my mermaid glory! _ As gently as I could, just in case he woke up or whatever you do when you've been unconscious, I gathered the limp body in my arms. It was hard enough to swim with the tail, but it was nearly impossible to swim with this guy they called Ryan. I headed towards Swallow's Cove, the only place the four of us could go as mermaids. I stuffed down my fear of being in open water, and concentrated on my task. I swam as fast as I could. It was hard, especially since I was so freaked out, but I swam as fast as I could. A few long minutes later, I reached Swallow's Cove. I swam as far up as I could, glad the waves weren't especially big today. It was quite a struggle to slither my way up to the dry sand, especially dragging Ryan. This was the second time I'd had to save someone. I finally got high enough up the beach. I rolled Ryan's limp body over. _Oh, crap. He's not breathing! _ All the rescue junk I'd learned in Health class fled my brain. _It's easy! Just do mouth to mouth. _ _Ew, gross! I'm not doing that! That's like practically kissing him. But he'll die if I don't. _ I glanced around, to make sure none of the other girls were around. I squeezed my eyes shut, and lowered my mouth to his. _Just, you know, breathe. _I told myself, my lips hovering less than an inch above his. _I can't do this! I've never even kissed a guy before! _ I tried blowing air from here, but that obviously wasn't doing any good.

"Um, okay, Ryan, I think that's your name. If your awake, or can hear me, I'm trying to kiss you. I'm just….resuscitating you. So…yeah. I hope that's okay with you." Before I could think about it anymore, I did it. Breathing through my nose, and out from my mouth…into his. Just I remembered to try to facilitate a heartbeat or something, He started jerking. I pulled away, and he coughed water everywhere. And started breathing. But he didn't wake up. Yet. As quickly as no legs allowed, I dragged myself back into the water. Feeling very much like _The Little Mermaid, _I watched from a safe distance away in the ocean. After about ten minutes or so, he sat up. _He's okay. _I didn't wait anymore. I just fled.

**So not quite as long as last chapter, but I figured this is a good stopping spot. Big thanks to CopperFlash for creating Ryan for Thalia, and to RosemaryAlysse for Noelle and Carter. Also, while I'm at it, thanks DeGuddi for Thalia (and for updating!) and ConfederatePrincess for Amanda. So, they'll discover their powers soon! THANKS!**


	17. Seeing red-Bethany

_POV: Bethany _

I was waiting for Amanda…again. She was supposed to meet me in the place we'd dubbed "the moon pool" nearly half an hour ago and there was no sign of her. Yesterday, I had somehow managed to avoid water. My tactic? Staying locked in my room and imagining every imaginable situation that might play out and involve water spilling on me, and a frantic dash to a utility closet. But, sooner or later, Ethan was going to want to go boogie boarding again. And somehow, I would have to let him know I could never go swimming with him again without revealing my secret. I rolled over on my back, struggling with the massive tail that for some reason was very buoyant. Still no Amanda. _Oh well._ I submerged myself under the water, and after a few seconds of orienting myself and negotiating my tail, I took off. _This is defiantly the best part of a mermaid. _ I let the water rush around me, and sped up. _This is amazing!_ I flipped over, and began swimming upside-down. Amanda was the fastest swimmer of the four of us, but I was the most agile. I came up for air, searching for my house. I spotted it, and the safe, secluded spot I had found near beachside, rarely used bike path. I had found the spot yesterday, a place where I could dry off without being seen. I dragged myself ashore, pulling my tail along behind me. The sun glinted off my scales, and I waited for my legs to reappear, dreading another day. When I was dry, I scrambled to my feet, and trotted back home. My parent's cars weren't in the driveway, but Ethan's was-meaning he was home. I gulped. Sooner or later, he would want me to go boogie board with him. Hesitantly, I opened the door. Maybe I could sneak in without him seeing me. On tip toes, I crept in. I shut the door behind me as softly as I could, and turned back, colliding with someone. He was holding a can of soda, and suddenly, I found myself soaked by it.

"Oh! Uh- sorry Ethan." I stammered, struggling to rush by him as fast as I could.

"Hey, Bethany. Wanna go to the beach?" he said, taking an oh-so-innocent sip of his soda.

"Ah, one second. I said, fumbling for a reasonable response, dashing upstairs. If I could just make it to the bathroom, my secret would be safe. My hand collided with the bathroom door knob-locked. "Rose!" I shrieked, before turning and trying desperately to make it to my bedroom.

"Bethany? Do you want to come or what?" Ethan yelled from downstairs. My skin tingled, and I flopped face first into my room, tail hanging out the door, and in the hall.

"I'm done!" Rose called, opening the bathroom door. _Yikes! _ I dragged myself inside, and slammed the door shut with my tail. "Bethany? You okay?" Someone tapped on my door.

"Don't come in!" I shrieked, fumbling around to lock the door. "Go away!"

"Just because you're mad, doesn't mean you have to act like Alex just broke up with you!" She yelled.

"Alex and I were never dating, Rose! We were just friends!" I hollered.

"Oh, sure!" She yelled through the door. "Tell me about it."

"We weren't! And besides, he's been gone for the last year, so couldn't have been dating anyway."

"Haven't you ever heard of online relationship?"

"Shut up, Rose! Just leave me alone." I heard her laugh, and then her footsteps retreat. I groaned, and covered my face with my hands. Someone else knocked on my door.

"Go away!" I yelled. Silence.

"Bethany? Are you okay?" Ethan's muffled voice hit my ears. I sniffed.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said, swallowing hard.

"…well, do you wanna come or not?"

"Uh, no thanks." I said, trying to sound normal. "Not this time." _Or ever again._

"Um, okay." I heard him leave, and tried to swallow down the tears. I hated letting Ethan down almost as much as I hated Rose bringing up painful memories. I sat against my door, trying very hard not to cry until I was dry. Then I stood up, and wiped my eyes on my sleeve. Funny, how tears and sweat hadn't sparked my tail growing. _No more crying! _ I demanded of myself, and sniffed hard. I went downstairs, finding only my ridiculous sister sitting on the couch, watching TV, sporting a glass of lemonade. She snorted when she saw me, but quickly looked away.

"Shut up, Rose." I said, bored, "And stop trying to make me mad."

"Shut up!" She parroted back, making her voice high pitched in an attempt to imitate me. I just rolled my eyes. I thought about getting a can of soda, but I'd drank one yesterday in my room, and it's harder than you think not to get any on you. I sat down on the chair opposite the couch.

"So, Bethany." My sister said, "Where's your boyfriend?" _Does she ever stop? _ I sighed, and spoke as calmly as I could.

"I don't have one, Rose. I never have. It's a waste of time. When you get a little older, you'll realize life's not all about whether you should tell your crush that you like him or not." Rose scoffed.

"Sure." She said dramatically. "You and Alex never dated. I hardly believe that, with all the time you spent with him." I clenched my jaw.

"He was my friend." I said, through gritted teeth. "I told you that already." She just giggled.

"Yeah, your 'friend'. I believe you." She said. I clenched my fists in anger and jumped to my feet.

"Do you _ever _stop being so annoying? I don't get it. No, _you _don't get it! So grow up already! We were just friends, okay? I never liked him!" I yelled. It was only then when I noticed the steaming glass in her hand. The lemonade began to boil, and she dropped the glass in surprise, shaking her burned hand.

"Ouch! What did you do?" She squealed. On the floor, the lemonade kept boiling until it was nothing but lemony vapor. Then the carpet started to smoke. "Stop!" she yelled.

"I'm not doing anything!" I said, throwing my hands in the air. The smoking stopped, and a faint tingling in my hands started, and then ended as abruptly as the smoke. _Was that me? _The tingling felt awful close to the feeling when I changed. I ran upstairs, leaving Rose to clean up the mess. In the bathroom, I shut the drain on the sink basin and carefully filled it with water. Holding my hand over the basin, I made a fist. Immediately, the water started to steam, and a few seconds later, boil. _Wow! _ I unfolded my hand.

"That's not weird, not weird at all." I said to myself. I had to tell the other girls. I snuck back downstairs, and outside. I rushed down the sidewalk. Only a few minutes later, as I passed the library, someone behind me spoke.

"Beth, hey."

I froze.

There was only one person who would call me that.

**My best attempt at a cliffhanger. Next chapter will be another Bethany, or Amanda, and sometime next week!**

**Also, is this good writing? For all you good writers out there, please tell me!**


	18. Awkward Confusion

**Next chapter! I got this done, but this has been a busy week with school, and being sick, and tomorrow and Friday are even busier, so don't expect another update for a few days. Thanks for reading! **

_POV: Bethany_

Slowly, I turned.

His sandy blonde hair had gotten a little longer, but his eyes were still blue, and his nose still rather lopsided and angular. I swallowed-hard.

"Hi, Alex." I whispered. I could scarcely believe he was here standing in front of me. He smiled, crookedly.

"Hi." He repeated, softly. We stood in an awkward silence.

"What are you doing back here?" I asked, my voice shaky. He glanced down.

"My grandfather. He died a month ago. My parents decided that we were better off here again, so we moved back."

"I'm so sorry." I said, rather awkwardly. He shrugged. If this had been two years ago, had moved two states away to care for his aging grandfather, before he and his family before he'd left, none of this…awkwardness would be here.

"Did you get my emails?" He said, after another awkward pause. I nodded, twisting my fingers together. "Why, um, well why didn't you respond?" I looked up, into his eyes. I'd forgotten how blue they were. A jolt passed through me. I cleared my throat.

"Well…I just…I just couldn't." I wanted to bolt. "I thought maybe, if I, if I forgot about you…it wouldn't be so hard. You know me, I can't make friends."

"Have you? Since I left?"

"Um, not really."

_Not really? What about Amanda, Noelle, and Thalia? _ I demanded of myself. _Are you just forced to hang out with them because you're all mermaids? _

"Well, I'm sorta friends with a couple of girls. Two of them just moved here, so you wouldn't know them, but you might know Amanda Arden." Alex shook his head and shrugged. "I know I should have written back, but…" I trailed off, because all my excuses all seemed inadequate. He nodded. At a loss for words, I glanced around. Immediately, my glance fell on a muddy puddle of stale water between the street and the sidewalk. I flinched. Behind me, I heard the sound of a car approaching. Before I could react, the car sped by, the wheels slamming into the puddle and flinging water and mud all over Alex and me. _Ten seconds. _There was no way I could get away fast enough. I looked at Alex; he was laughing. Maybe he wouldn't notice. I made a fist, and almost immediately, felt the sting of heat. Our wet clothes, the water splattered on the sidewalk, and the swirling water still left in the puddle began steaming. The moisture on my skin vanished. _Five seconds. _ My clothes still felt wet.

"What's going on?" Alex said, staring at his sizzling shoes and jeans. I shrugged. _Three seconds. Will this work? _The water on the sidewalk was all but gone now. _Two seconds. _My clothes were dry. No tail in sight. But by now, Alex's shoes were about to start smoking. I relaxed my hand._ It worked!_

"That was weird…" He said, slowly.

"I have to go. I'll see you later, okay?" I said quickly. I wanted to say so much more. _ I can't. _ "Bye." I mumbled, and then fled.

"Beth- wait!" He called behind me. I ignored him, and just kept running. My eyes burned from unshed tears. _Stop crying! Rose has really gotten to you. Why are you crying over a boy, who you claim all the time is just your friend? _My conscience nagged. _I don't know! _ By the time I had pushed my thoughts back, I realized I had no idea where I was, or where I was going. After some serious back tracking, I managed to get back to the main beach access. I wanted to discuss my new found…power with the others, but right now, I just wanted to be alone. I whipped off my sandals and hurried across the hot sand. If I could just get away without anyone noticing…

Suddenly, I spotted my brother. Ethan was not twenty feet away, with his surf board tucked under his arm, talking to none other than…Alex. He too, was sporting a stowed surf board. _Crap._ Ethan's voice floated over to me.

"Bethany will be thrilled to see you. She hasn't talked to anyone since you left." _Shut up, Ethan! _

"Yeah." I heard Alex say. "I already talked to her, but she was in a rush to go somewhere." He said.

"She's been acting pretty weird lately. She hasn't wanted to go surf or anything with me for a week, and that's what we've been doing all day. So, how 'bout it. Wanna surf?" Alex gave one of his overused shrugs, and they both turned to toward the water-and me. Before I even knew what I was doing, I was sprinting into the waves. I surged as far as I could before I flopped face first into the salt water. I darted a quick glance over my shoulder. No one had noticed, as far as I could tell. I ducked under the water, and sped towards Swallow's Cove as fast as I could. As I approached the opening to the Moon Pool, I slowed down, and glided in. I settled on the ledge, and watched the water swirl around me, lost in thoughts. _I couldn't even talk to him. I'm so stupid. Why can't life ever be, I don't know, normal? _ Behind me, I heard someone come in. I turned to see Thalia.

"Hi," I said, when she came up.

"Hey." She responded, wiping her short hair out of her eyes, and joining me on the ledge. "What's up?" I shrugged. I didn't know her that well and I wasn't about to tell her about my boy problems. _That's what friends are for! _ My inner voice nagged. _And it's not exactly boy problems. He's just your friend. _ Then, I remembered my new found power thing.

"You'll never believe what happened." I said. "Watch." I made a fist over the pool, and it began to steam, until it was basically a bathtub.

"Woah-that's weird." Thalia said. "Ouch! Stop, it's getting hot." I did, and we both laughed. "How'd you do that?" She asked excitedly.

"I don't know. It just…happened. I made my sister spill her drink and then almost lit the carpet on fire." I said, choosing not to relate the whole story.

"And you just made a fist?"

"On accident." I said, nodding.

"I wonder if I have one…" She said, experimentally fiddling with her hand over the water. She tried a fist, and a few other weird things that looked like sign language. Nothing happened, and she furrowed her brow. "Something's happening." She said excitedly, holding her hand still. "But I don't know what. I kinda know." She held her hand over the pool. Slowly and cautiously, she shaped her fingers as if she was holding a ball, and rotated her wrist. We both watched, waiting.

**Te he, another cliff hanger! (sorta) Thanks for the reviews! Love you guys :D**


	19. Frozen Orange Juice-Amanda

**Hey guys! Sorry, I've been lazy, and haven't updated for about a week, I think. But I've got excuses!**

**Excuse #1: I updated last Wednesday, but on Thursday I had a forensics competition, and didn't get home until after midnight. Oh, and I had school the next day, and my school's version of homecoming! So I was pretty wiped out all weekend, and sick. **

**Excuse #2: I got slightly obsessed with playing solitaire. It's pretty addicting…MUST BEAT COMPUTER! **

**Excuse #3: I have a problem focusing on one story at a time, and started yet another new one!**

**Excuse: #4: Was more than slightly obsessed with movie "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" and watched it A LOT! It wasn't quite as bad as the time me and ConfederatePrincess were obsessed with Lord of the Rings though, so be thankful.**

**There are more, but ya'll probably don't care. You just want another chapter, right? Okay, I'll stop procrastinating and write it. Reviews help!**

_POV: Amanda _

"Lucy! Shut up!" I screamed, glad that both of my parents were working today, and wouldn't freak out at me for saying shut up. It was almost as bad as if you said stupid. But my five year old half brat half demon half-sister would NOT stop whining.

"But, Manda, I wanna go to beach!" She whined.  
"Too bad!" I said. It was harsh, but after two days of being stuck with a five year old and a two year old, I was starting to go a little crazy. "I can't handle both of you there!" _Oh, and I forgot to mention I'll turn into a mermaid if I get wet! _ She burst into her manipulative tears.

"You're so mean! I'm going to tell Mommy what you said." She cried. _It's just one of her tactics, Amanda. Don't give in._

"Mom said I wasn't allowed to take you guys anywhere without her, Lucy."

"That's not fair!"

"It's plenty fair. Now stop crying." Of course, she didn't. She never did. Suddenly, I heard a crash coming from the kitchen.

"Jimmy!" I shrieked. _Never let your guard down, Amanda. NEVER! _ I dashed into the kitchen, only to find the two year old happily playing in…orange juice? The refrigerator door was open, and apparently, the tot was thirsty, but had dropped the whole liter, and now it covered the kitchen floor. _Just what this mermaid needs._ I groaned. "Lucy, can you get some paper towels? Or, better yet, just a towel from the bathroom." Lucy propped her hands on her hips and stuck her nose in the air.

"Nope! You can." She spun gleefully around and flounced off. _Oh great. _

"Jimmy, clean up this mess you made!" He only gurgled a giggle, and ran off, leaving sticky orange juice in his wake. I edged around the puddle of juice, and grabbed a couple of dish towels. After carefully extracting the half empty container from the puddle, I set it on the counter, and went upstairs to get some bigger towels, and some rubber gloves. When I returned, Jimmy was back in the puddle, splashing away.

"Sowwy, Manda." He said, rather happily.

"it's okay, Jimmy." I said. He was just a toddler, after all. Not like bratty Lucy. He wasn't all that bad, just a typical little kid. "But do me a favor, and don't make any more messes." He nodded happily, and I handed him a towel. Enthusiastically, he began to sop up the juice. I donned the rubber gloves, and very cautiously, began to wipe up the mess.

"Mom's going to be mad." Lucy said, coming up behind me.

"She won't be if we clean this up, and you help." I said without turning. She gave a devilish giggle. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched her stand up on her tip-toes and grab the remaining orange juice. At first, I thought she was just being helpful for once, and putting it away, but then, she wasn't… "What are you doing?" I cried, just as she hurled the juice at me. I shrieked, throwing my hands up over my face in a vain attempt to protect me from impending doom, mermaid style. But cold liquid sloshed all over me anyway. But only a little. The rest…was frozen? I didn't have time to think about it though. My skin was already crawling. _Ten seconds. _ Before I dashed to the bathroom, though, I couldn't help bellowing, "LUCY! YOU BRAT! Clean this up NOW!" And flinging her into the juice puddle. I ran to the downstairs bathroom-again- and made it with just a second to spare, before _bam, _mermaid. I quickly locked the door, and began rinsing orange juice out of my hair. I didn't really care if they burned the whole house down at the moment. Then I remembered the frozen orange juice. _Did I do that? All I did was…_ Experimentally, I filled the sink basin with water, and aimed my palm at it, stop sign style. It froze. _Wow! I get a tail, and I freeze stuff! Cool!_ _I wonder if the other girls can to. _I grabbed a towel, and began to dry off. When my tail was gone, I reentered the kitchen. Of course, the culprits were gone, off playing. Biting my lip, I aimed my hand at the puddle. It froze too. I grinned. I quickly slipped on the rubber gloves, and, armed with a towel, began hauling chunks of ice to the sink. I managed to clean it all up before any of the step-brats returned, and I didn't grow another tail either. I would have to come up with a story about a sudden orange juice craving, but right now, I was long overdue for a swim. Hopefully, I could meet up with the other girls and share my new found power. But then I remembered my confinement to the house. And I couldn't exactly leave the kids alone. Lucy would be sure to tattle, and I would be exiled to Siberia or the Galapagos Islands or something. Actually, that didn't sound all that bad right now. Instead, I went in search of my charges. I found them outside. Lucy, always the boss, was chasing poor little Jimmy around the yard, armed with the hose. She was turning the yard into a mud mess.

"You guys, you know you're not allowed to play with the hose! Turn it off, Lucy!" She, of course, did not. She just stuck her tongue out at me.

"Make me!" She chortled.

"I will!" I grumbled under my breath. I flattened my palm at my waist, so she wouldn't see, and aimed it her. Immediately, the water stopped gushing out of the hose, and turned to ice. I couldn't help but grin, seeing her shocked expression. "Come inside, you two." I said as cheerfully as I could without sounding smug. "But turn the hose off first."

"Its…its frozen!" Lucy managed.

"Lucy! Stop telling lies. It's summer!" I said, barely able to contain my laughter. "Or I'll tell Mom." Reluctant, and dumbfounded, she obeyed, and Jimmy followed her.

_Success! This mermaid stuff is sooo cool! _

**Hopefully that makes up for not updating: D Just curious, does anyone read this besides those whose characters I used? I love to know if you do, even if you're a guest. I also love reviews! THANKS! **


	20. Jelly water-Noelle

**So hopefully someone is still reading this! I didn't get any reviews last update **** which tempted me to put this one 'on hold' aka never come back to it. But I'm bored during class, so I'll try to stimulate my thinking with an update! PLEASE review and let me know people are still reading this! Review! Big thanks to DeGuddi for updating, and spurring me on!**

_POV: Noelle_

"So then what happened?" Haylee pressed. I wasn't about to say there was a water bottle fight, I got wet, and ran into the bathroom and grew a tail.

"Um, we watched the others preform their routines." I said, lamely. I hated not being honest, but I couldn't tell her my secret.

"And?"

"Then we left. Actually, I went to bathroom, and when I came back to get my stuff, Christian was dancing some contemporary piece." My cousin giggled.

"What's so cool about that?"

"Well, no one else was there, and it wasn't like he invited me to watch."

"But you were." She said. "How romantic!"

"Haylee!" I cried, playfully slapping her on the arm. She laughed.

"Did he notice you, or what?" She said eagerly. I nodded.

"He asked me if it was any good." I said.

"What didja say?" I bit my lip.

"I don't remember." I said meekly.

"You don't remember? How could you not? You told me he was gorgeous, super nice, and super talented. How could you not remember?"

"My brain checks out in situations like that!" I protested. "I said something about him needing to work on his technique, I think." Haylee groaned.

"Why! Guys never deal with criticism well."

"I don't know why! It just came out!" I squeaked.

"What happened next?"

"He said sorry for getting water on me, and asked me if I was coming back. I nodded, and then I told him as long as there weren't any more water fights, he said sure thing, and then he left." I rambled.

"You didn't tell me about a water fight." Haylee said.

"Oh." I said lamely. I felt heat creeping into my cheeks. "Minor detail." Haylee shrugged.

"He sounds like the sweetest guy ever!" She gushed. "When's your next class."

"On Wednesday." I replied, bushing. Before she could make me blush anymore, Gabriel threw open the door.

"You guys wanna go to the beach?" He said.

"Sure!" Haylee said,

"No!" I said at the same time.

"Aw, come on Ella!" Haylee begged. "It'll be fun!"

"I'm kinda tired." I said quickly "I think I'll just stay here."

"Suit yourself." Gabriel said with a shrug. "Come on, Haylee." They left, and suddenly I felt very lonely. Sometimes, being a mermaid was no fun. I could always go to the Moon Pool, and see the others, but the past few times I'd done that, no one had been there. I sighed. I hadn't seen any of them for a few days. _Just when I thought I was making a few friends. _I sighed again, and flopped face first onto my bed. After pouting on my face for a few minutes, I rolled on my side, and started out the window. I noticed a chip in my nail polish and pulled my hand closer for an inspection. Most of them were chipped, so I dragged myself to my feet, and to my bathroom, and dug around for the color already on, so I wouldn't have to dig out the nail polish remover and give myself a headache. I planted myself to the counter, and set to work fixing the chips. When I finished, I pulled my fingers together, and inspected them. They actually turned out pretty good, for once. I was about to start on my other hand, when suddenly, something in the sink caught my eye. The few droplets that had made a tiny puddle around the drain looked like…clear jelly. Cautiously, I poked it. It sure felt like jelly. I wrinkled my nose. _Moldy water? _I didn't have much more time to think, because the next thing I knew, I lost my balance, and hit the floor. _Aw, come on. It was only a drop of some gelatin stuff! _I dried my finger off with a towel, and changed back. I stood. _I bet my nail polish is all messed up now. _I pulled my fingers together again, and examined them. They hadn't survived. I grabbed the nail polish bottle again, but then saw the sink. The water jelly stuff, was hard. I touched it cautiously. It was hard, like glass, or plastic. _Weird. _I dried my finger off, just in case. Suddenly, my spine went rigid. _Did I do that? _I watched as the hard jelly water stuff changed back to water and flowed down the drain. My fingers tingled. Quickly, I stopped the drain, and filled the sink basin with water. Then I pulled my fingers in together, towards my palm, just like I was inspecting my nails. Instantly, the water turned to jelly. I wrinkled my brow. I did it again, and the water hardened. This time, I smiled. This was amazing! I had some weird water power! I did the hand-thing again, and the glass water stuff turned back into regular water. I don't know how long I sat there, doing it over and over again. _The other girls! _ The thought struck me. Did they have this strange power too? I had to find out! I quickly shed my cream colored lace dress in favor of jogging shorts and t-shirt, and threw on my sneakers. I left quickly, and headed towards Swallow's Cove.

**A bit shorter than normal, but I figured you'd all like an update instead of a hundred more words. Well, maybe not. I don't know! Please Review! I love getting them almost as much as I love this new CD!**


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